By Swinford                                           H.B. No. 2810
         76R9111 DRH-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the obstruction of a railroad crossing; providing a
 1-3     penalty.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Sections 471.007(a), (b), and (c), Transportation
 1-6     Code, are amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (a)  An officer, agent, servant, or receiver of a railway
 1-8     company commits an offense if the person:
 1-9                 (1)  wilfully obstructs for more than 10 [five] minutes
1-10     a street, railroad crossing, or public highway by permitting a
1-11     train to stand on the crossing; or
1-12                 (2)  refuses to clear the crossing immediately after
1-13     being informed by a peace officer that an emergency situation
1-14     requires the crossing to be clear.
1-15           (b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) [this section] is a
1-16     misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $500 [$5] or more
1-17     than $1,000 [$100].  An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a
1-18     misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $1,500 or more
1-19     than $3,000.
1-20           (c)  An officer making an arrest for an offense under this
1-21     section shall prepare in duplicate a citation to appear in court
1-22     showing:
1-23                 (1)  the name and address of the person;
1-24                 (2)  the offense charged; [and]
 2-1                 (3)  the railroad company of which the person is an
 2-2     officer, agent, servant, or receiver; and
 2-3                 (4)  the time and place the person is to appear in
 2-4     court.
 2-5           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
 2-6     applies only to an offense that occurs on or after that date.  For
 2-7     purposes of this section, an offense occurs before the effective
 2-8     date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before the
 2-9     effective date.  An offense that occurs before the effective date
2-10     of this Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the offense
2-11     was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
2-12     purpose.
2-13           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.