Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By: Armbrister S.B. No. 1461
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to high occupancy vehicle lanes and the charging of tolls
1-2 on the state highway system for the purpose of congestion
1-3 mitigation.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 224, Transportation Code, is amended by
1-6 adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER F. CONGESTION MITIGATION PROJECTS AND FACILITIES
1-8 Sec. 224.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-9 (1) "Carpool and vanpool project" means designating
1-10 highway lanes as preferential carpool or high occupancy vehicle
1-11 lanes and creating facilities to relieve traffic congestion.
1-12 (2) "Congestion" means the level at which
1-13 transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to
1-14 traffic interference. The level of acceptable system performance
1-15 may vary by type of transportation facility, geographic location
1-16 (metropolitan area or subarea, rural area), and/or time of day.
1-17 (3) "Congestion mitigation" means projects and
1-18 facilities used to reduce congestion in order to promote the use of
1-19 carpools and vanpools, improve air quality, conserve fuel, and
1-20 enhance the use of existing highways and facilities on the state
1-21 highway system.
1-22 (4) "Corporation" means a transportation corporation
1-23 created by the state under Chapter 431.
2-1 (5) "High occupancy vehicle" means a bus or other
2-2 motorized passenger vehicle such as a carpool or vanpool vehicle
2-3 used for ridesharing purposes and occupied by a specified minimum
2-4 number of persons.
2-5 (6) "High occupancy vehicle lane" means one or more
2-6 lanes of a highway facility or an entire highway facility where
2-7 high occupancy vehicles, trucks, or emergency vehicles or any
2-8 combination thereof are given at all times, or at regularly
2-9 scheduled times, a priority or preference over some or all other
2-10 vehicles moving in the general stream of all highway traffic.
2-11 (7) "Motor vehicle" has the meaning assigned by
2-12 Transportation Code, Section 522.003.
2-13 Sec. 224.152. PURPOSE. (a) Subject to the availability of
2-14 state and federal funds, it is the intent of the legislature to
2-15 further the purposes of the United States Congress as expressed in
2-16 23 U.S.C. Sec. 134, Sec. 135, Sec. 146 and Sec. 149 and in Section
2-17 1012(b) of Pub. L. 102-240 to conserve fuel, decrease traffic
2-18 congestion during rush hours, improve air quality, develop
2-19 innovative techniques to finance transportation projects, and
2-20 enhance the use of existing highways and facilities.
2-21 (b) The legislature declares that it is necessary, in order
2-22 to further the purposes described in Subsection (a), to provide for
2-23 the participation of the commission and the department in projects
2-24 and facilities for the purpose of congestion mitigation.
2-25 Sec. 224.153. HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES AUTHORIZED.
3-1 (a) The commission may designate and the department or a
3-2 corporation may design, construct, operate, and maintain one or
3-3 more lanes on a multi-lane highway facility as dedicated high
3-4 occupancy vehicle lanes on the state highway system.
3-5 (b) The commission may spend or allocate any available funds
3-6 for purposes of a carpool and vanpool project or any other
3-7 designation of a dedicated high occupancy vehicle lane on the state
3-8 highway system.
3-9 Sec. 224.154. CONGESTION MITIGATION. (a) Notwithstanding
3-10 any law of this state relating to charging tolls on existing free
3-11 public highways, the commission may by order authorize the
3-12 department or a corporation to charge a toll for the use of one or
3-13 more lanes of a state highway facility, including a high occupancy
3-14 vehicle lane, for the purposes of congestion mitigation.
3-15 (b) The commission may by order set the amount of toll
3-16 charges. Any toll charges shall be imposed in a reasonable and
3-17 nondiscriminatory manner.
3-18 (c) For purposes of congestion mitigation projects and
3-19 facilities under this subchapter, the department and a corporation
3-20 are successor agencies to the Texas Turnpike Authority for purposes
3-21 of Section 52-b, Article III, Texas Constitution.
3-22 (d) Revenue generated from toll charges and administrative
3-23 fees assessed by the department in connection with a congestion
3-24 mitigation facility shall be deposited in the state highway fund
3-25 and may only be used for projects for the improvement of the state
4-1 highway system.
4-2 (e) The powers granted by this section are subject to the
4-3 restrictions of 23 U.S.C. Section 129.
4-4 Sec. 224.155. FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO PAY TOLL CHARGES. Any
4-5 motor vehicle that is not a police or emergency vehicle, driven or
4-6 towed through a toll collection facility, shall pay the proper
4-7 toll.
4-8 Sec. 224.156. ADMINISTRATIVE FEE; NOTICE. (a) In the event
4-9 of nonpayment of the proper toll, on issuance of proper notice of
4-10 nonpayment, the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle is
4-11 legally bound to pay both the proper toll and an administrative
4-12 fee.
4-13 (b) The commission by rule and a corporation by order of its
4-14 board of directors may respectively fix an administrative fee, not
4-15 to exceed $100, so as to recover the cost of collecting an unpaid
4-16 toll. The notice of nonpayment to the registered owner shall be
4-17 sent by the department by first class mail not later than 30 days
4-18 after the date of the alleged failure to pay and may require
4-19 payment not sooner than 30 days from the date the notice was
4-20 mailed. The registered owner shall pay a separate toll and
4-21 administrative fee for each event of nonpayment.
4-22 (c) If the registered owner of the vehicle fails to pay the
4-23 proper toll and administrative fee within the time specified by the
4-24 notice of nonpayment issued under this section, the registered
4-25 owner shall be cited as for other traffic violations for the
5-1 nonpayment, and the owner is legally bound to pay a fine, not to
5-2 exceed $250, for each event of nonpayment. Neither the legal
5-3 obligation to pay nor the actual payment of the fine shall affect
5-4 the legal duty of the owner for any other fine or penalty
5-5 prescribed by law.
5-6 Sec. 224.157. PROSECUTIONS. (a) In the prosecution of a
5-7 violation under Section 224.155 and 224.156, proof that the vehicle
5-8 passed through a toll collection facility without payment of the
5-9 proper toll, together with proof that the defendant was the
5-10 registered owner of the vehicle when the failure to pay occurred,
5-11 establishes the nonpayment of the registered owner.
5-12 (b) The court of the local jurisdiction in which the
5-13 violation occurred may assess and collect the fine, in addition to
5-14 any court costs. The court shall also collect the proper toll and
5-15 administrative fee and forward the toll and fee to the department
5-16 or to the corporation.
5-17 (c) It is a defense to nonpayment under Section 224.155 or
5-18 224.156 that the motor vehicle in question was stolen before the
5-19 failure to pay the proper toll occurred and was not recovered by
5-20 the time of the failure to pay, but only if the theft was reported
5-21 to the appropriate law enforcement authority before the earlier of:
5-22 (1) the occurrence of the failure to pay; or
5-23 (2) eight hours after discovery of the theft.
5-24 (d) A registered owner who is a lessor of a vehicle
5-25 concerning which a notice of nonpayment was issued under Section
6-1 224.156 is not liable in connection with that notice of nonpayment
6-2 if, not later than 30 days after the date the notice of nonpayment
6-3 is mailed, the registered owner provides to the department or the
6-4 corporation a copy of the rental, lease, or other contract document
6-5 covering the vehicle on the date of the nonpayment, with the name
6-6 and address of the lessee clearly legible. Failure to provide this
6-7 information within the period prescribed renders the lessor liable
6-8 as the registered owner. If the lessor provides the required
6-9 information within the period prescribed, the lessee of the vehicle
6-10 on the date of the violation is considered to be the owner of the
6-11 vehicle for purposes of this subchapter and is subject to
6-12 prosection for failure to pay the proper toll as if the lessee were
6-13 the registered owner, if the department or the corporation sends a
6-14 notice of nonpayment to the lessee by first class mail within 30
6-15 days after the date of receipt of the required information from the
6-16 lessor.
6-17 Sec. 224.158. USE AND RETURN OF TRANSPONDERS. (a) For
6-18 purposes of this section, a "transponder" means a device, placed on
6-19 or within a motor vehicle, that is capable of transmitting
6-20 information used to assess or collect tolls. A transponder is
6-21 "insufficiently funded" when there are no remaining funds in the
6-22 account in connection with which the transponder was issued.
6-23 (b) Any law enforcement officer of the Department of Public
6-24 Safety of the State of Texas has the authority to seize a stolen or
6-25 insufficiently funded transponder and to return it to the
7-1 department or the corporation, except that an insufficiently funded
7-2 transponder may not be seized sooner than 30 days after the date
7-3 the department or the corporation has sent a notice of delinquency
7-4 to the holder of the account.
7-5 Sec. 224.159. ADOPTION OF RULES; PRESCRIBE FORMS. The
7-6 commission shall adopt rules and prescribe forms to administer this
7-7 subchapter.
7-8 SECTION 2. Section 431.073, Transportation Code, is amended
7-9 to read as follows:
7-10 Sec. 431.073. PROJECTS IN COUNTY OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE OR
7-11 ADJACENT COUNTY. (a) This section applies only to a corporation
7-12 [in existence on August 31, 1991,] that was created by the state or
7-13 one or more counties or municipalities to implement a
7-14 transportation project in:
7-15 (1) a county with a population of 1.5 million or more;
7-16 or
7-17 (2) a county adjacent to a county described by
7-18 Subdivision (1).
7-19 (b) If approved and authorized by the commission, a
7-20 corporation created by the state shall have and exercise the
7-21 rights, powers, privileges, authority, and functions given the
7-22 department under this title to:
7-23 (1) construct, improve, operate, and maintain high
7-24 occupancy vehicle lanes; and
7-25 (2) charge a toll for the use of one or more high
8-1 occupancy vehicle lanes for the purpose of congestion mitigation.
8-2 (c) A corporation in existence on August 31, 1991, has the
8-3 powers, rights, and privileges of a corporation created under
8-4 Chapter 11, Title 32, Revised Statutes, as that law existed on
8-5 August 31, 1991, except that the required right-of-way of any
8-6 highway, road, street, or turnpike may be of the width required or
8-7 approved by the commission or each governing body creating the
8-8 corporation.
8-9 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
8-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-15 passage, and it is so enacted.