HBA-NRS H.B. 2667 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2667 By: Carter Transportation 4/3/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, placement and maintenance of traffic-control devices on state highways in municipalities with populations of 50,000 or less is provided by a rule of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The placement and maintenance of traffic-control devices by TxDOT is a benefit to municipalities of this size that bear other expenses related to highway maintenance. However, some of these municipalities have had their population increase as indicated by the 2000 census and therefore are not eligible for financial assistance from TxDOT relating to traffic-control devices. House Bill 2667 requires TxDOT to place and maintain traffic-control devices on state highways in a municipality with a population of 60,000 or less that has within its boundaries parts of three or more state highways. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2667 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to place and maintain traffic-control devices on a state highway in a municipality with a population of less than 60,000 that has within its boundaries parts of three or more state highways, if the governing body of the municipality makes a request to TxDOT and enters into an agreement with TxDOT providing for the location, relocation, improvement, control, supervision, and regulation of a designated state highway in the municipality and establishing the respective liabilities and responsibilities of TxDOT and the municipality. The bill provides that the placement and maintenance of such traffic control devices is to be based on the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic-control devices that correlate with and conform to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Association standards. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.