1-1     By:  Moncrief                                         S.B. No. 1220
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 1999; March 11, 1999, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 3, 1999,
 1-4     reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 3, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1220                 By:  Bernsen
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to highway beautification; providing civil penalties.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 391.035, Transportation Code, is amended
1-12     to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 391.035.  [VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER;] CIVIL PENALTY.
1-14     (a)  In addition to being subject to a criminal penalty or
1-15     injunctive action, a person who intentionally violates this
1-16     subchapter or Subchapter C is liable to the state for a civil
1-17     penalty.  The attorney general may sue to collect the penalty.
1-18           (b)  The amount of the civil penalty is not less than $500 or
1-19     more than $1,000 for each violation, depending on the seriousness
1-20     of the violation.  A separate penalty may be collected for each day
1-21     a continuing violation occurs.
1-22           (c)  A penalty collected under this section shall be
1-23     deposited to the credit of the state highway fund.
1-24           SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 391, Transportation Code,
1-25     is amended by adding Sections 391.125, 391.126, and 391.127 to read
1-26     as follows:
1-27           Sec. 391.125.  INJUNCTION TO REQUIRE SCREENING.  (a)  On
1-28     written notice by certified mail from the department.  An owner of
1-29     a junkyard that is established, operated, or maintained in
1-30     violation of this subchapter or a rule adopted under this
1-31     subchapter shall screen the junkyard in accordance with Section
1-32     391.121.  If the owner does not screen the junkyard within 45 days
1-33     of the date of the notice, the department may request the attorney
1-34     general to apply for an injunction to require the screening of the
1-35     junkyard.
1-36           (b)  Under an action brought under Subsection (a), the state
1-37     is entitled to recover from the owner of a junkyard all
1-38     administrative and legal costs and expenses incurred to require the
1-39     screening of the junkyard, including court costs and reasonable
1-40     attorney's fees.
1-41           Sec. 391.126.  CIVIL PENALTY.  (a)  In addition to being
1-42     subject to a criminal penalty or injunctive action, a person who
1-43     intentionally violates this subchapter is liable to the state for a
1-44     civil penalty.  The attorney general may sue to collect the
1-45     penalty.
1-46           (b)  The amount of a civil penalty under this section is not
1-47     less than $500.00 or more than $1,000 for each violation, depending
1-48     on the seriousness of the violation.  A separate penalty may be
1-49     collected for each day a continuing violation occurs.
1-50           Sec. 391.127.  SAVAGE VEHICLE DEALER LICENSE.  The commission
1-51     may revoke or suspend a license issued under Article 6687-1a,
1-52     Revised Statutes, or place on probation a license holder whose
1-53     license is suspended, if the license holder violates this chapter
1-54     or a rule adopted under this chapter.
1-55           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-56     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-57     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-58     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-59     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
1-60     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
1-61     passage, and it is so enacted.
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