77R8919 DWS-F                           
         By Williams                                           H.B. No. 1191
         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1191:
         By Hamric                                         C.S.H.B. No. 1191
                                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.