By:  Ogden                                             S.B. No. 888
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to enforcement of motor vehicle weight restrictions.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 621.402, Transportation Code, is amended
 1-5     by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
 1-6           (c)  A noncommissioned employee of the Department of Public
 1-7     Safety who is certified for the purpose by the public safety
 1-8     director and who is supervised by an officer of the Department of
 1-9     Public Safety may, in a port of entry or at a fixed-site facility,
1-10     weigh a vehicle, require the vehicle to be weighed, or require a
1-11     vehicle to be driven to the nearest scale under Subsections (a) and
1-12     (b).
1-13           SECTION 2.  Section 621.408, Transportation Code, is amended
1-14     to read as follows:
1-15           Sec. 621.408.  POWERS OF WEIGHT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
1-16     (a)  Except for the authority granted to a port-of-entry supervisor
1-17     or inspector by Section 621.409, weight enforcement officers have
1-18     exclusive authority[:]
1-19                 [(1)]  to enforce this subchapter in any area of this
1-20     state, including all ports of entry [other than in the territory of
1-21     a municipality with a population of more than:]
1-22                       [(A)  100,000; or]
1-23                       [(B)  74,000 in a county with a population of
1-24     more than 1.5 million; and]
1-25                 [(2)  to enforce all weight limitations for a vehicle
 2-1     on a state-maintained public highway or at a port-of-entry] between
 2-2     Texas and the United Mexican States.
 2-3           (b)  If a noncommissioned employee weighs a vehicle under
 2-4     Section 621.402 and determines that an enforcement action, such as
 2-5     the issuance of a citation, is warranted, only a supervising
 2-6     officer may take the action.
 2-7           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.