HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 503 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 503 By: Pickett Public Safety 3/22/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law authorizes certain municipal police officers to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety standards. These standards regulate the maintenance, equipment, loading, and operation of commercial motor vehicles. C.S.H.B. 503 authorizes certain sheriffs or deputy sheriffs of a county to apply to the Department of Public Safety for certification to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety standards. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Public Safety in SECTION 1 (Section 644.101, Transportation Code) and SECTION 2 (Section 644.102, Transportation Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 503 amends the Transportation Code to provide that a sheriff or deputy sheriff of a county bordering the United Mexican States or of a county with a population of 400,000 or more is eligible to apply to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for certification to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety standards (safety standards). The bill provides that a municipal police officer in a municipality with a population of 25,000 or more any part of which is located in a county with a population of 400,000 or more rather than 2.4 million or more is eligible to apply to DPS for certification to enforce safety standards. The bill extends the rulemaking authority of DPS to require DPS to establish reasonable fees sufficient to recover from a county the cost of certifying its peace officers and to establish uniform standards for county enforcement of safety standards. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 503 differs from the original by providing that a police officer in a municipality of 25,000 or more any part of which is located in a county with a population of at least 400,000 rather than 2.4 million is eligible to apply to the Department of Public Safety for certification to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety standards (safety standards). The substitute also provides that any deputy sheriff of a county bordering the United Mexican States or of a county with a population of 400,000 or more is eligible to apply for certification to enforce safety standards, whereas in the original bill all sheriffs or deputy sheriffs were eligible to apply for certification.