1-1 By: Lucio S.B. No. 1511 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2001; March 14, 2001, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; 1-4 May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, 1-5 Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to interference with or recycling of a traffic-control 1-9 device or railroad sign or signal; providing penalties. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Section 544.005, Transportation Code, is amended 1-12 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 544.005. INTERFERENCE WITH TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICE OR 1-14 RAILROAD SIGN OR SIGNAL. (a) A person may not, without lawful 1-15 authority, alter, injure, knock down, or remove or attempt to 1-16 alter, injure, knock down, or remove: 1-17 (1) an official traffic-control device or railroad 1-18 sign or signal; 1-19 (2) an inscription, shield, or insignia on an official 1-20 traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal; or 1-21 (3) another part of an official traffic-control device 1-22 or railroad sign or signal. 1-23 (b) If a person other than the person committing the offense 1-24 suffers property damage or bodily injury as a result of an offense 1-25 under Subsection (a), instead of the penalty provided by Section 1-26 542.401, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor. 1-27 SECTION 2. Chapter 544, Transportation Code, is amended by 1-28 adding Section 544.0051 to read as follows: 1-29 Sec. 544.0051. RECYCLING OF TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICE OR 1-30 RAILROAD SIGN OR SIGNAL. (a) In this section "recycler" means a 1-31 person in the business of dismantling or otherwise processing 1-32 materials so that the materials or components of the materials may 1-33 be reused. 1-34 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c): 1-35 (1) a person may not sell a traffic-control device or 1-36 railroad sign or signal to a recycler; and 1-37 (2) a recycler may not recycle all or part of the 1-38 material in a traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal. 1-39 (c) This section does not apply to a traffic-control device 1-40 or railroad sign or signal sold or recycled by a governmental 1-41 entity as permitted by law. 1-42 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 1-43 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this 1-44 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed 1-45 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense 1-46 occurs before that date. 1-47 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this 1-48 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was 1-49 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that 1-50 purpose. 1-51 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. 1-52 * * * * *