By Williams H.B. No. 1191
77R8919 DWS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the authority of the commissioners court of a county to
1-3 alter speed limits on county roads.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 545.355, Transportation Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 545.355. AUTHORITY OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT TO
1-8 ALTER SPEED LIMITS. (a) The commissioners court of a county, for
1-9 a county road or highway outside the limits of the right-of-way of
1-10 an officially designated or marked highway or road of the state
1-11 highway system and outside a municipality, has the same authority
1-12 to increase prima facie speed limits from the results of an
1-13 engineering and traffic investigation as the Texas Transportation
1-14 Commission on an officially designated or marked highway of the
1-15 state highway system.
1-16 (b) The commissioners court of a county[, and] may declare a
1-17 lower speed limit of not less than:
1-18 (1) 30 miles per hour on a county road or highway to
1-19 which this section applies, if the commissioners court determines
1-20 that the prima facie speed limit on the road or highway is
1-21 unreasonable or unsafe; or
1-22 (2) 20 miles per hour in a residence district.
1-23 (c) The commissioners court may not modify the rule
1-24 established by Section 545.351(a) or establish a speed limit of
2-1 more than 60 miles per hour.
2-2 (d) [(b)] The commissioners court may modify a prima facie
2-3 speed limit in accordance with this section only by an order
2-4 entered on its records.
2-5 (e) [(c)] The commissioners court of a county with a
2-6 population of more than 2.8 million may establish from the results
2-7 of an engineering and traffic investigation a speed limit of not
2-8 more than 70 miles per hour on any part of a highway of that county
2-9 that is a limited-access or controlled-access highway, regardless
2-10 of the location of the part of the highway.
2-11 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-12 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-13 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
2-14 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-15 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.