78R4291 JTS-F

By:  Geren                                                        H.B. No. 896



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the use of a sounding device by a locomotive engineer; 
providing a criminal penalty and increasing an existing penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 471.006, Transportation Code, is amended 
by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (f) 
to read as follows:
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [The] engineer 
in charge of the locomotive shall ring the bell and blow the whistle 
or siren at least one-quarter mile from the place where the railroad 
crosses a public road or street.  The engineer shall continue to 
ring the bell until the locomotive has crossed the road or stopped.
	(d)  The engineer in charge of the locomotive commits an 
offense if the engineer violates Subsection (b) or (f).  An offense 
under this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not 
less than $5 or more than $500 [$100].
	(e)  Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), the governing 
body of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000 [5,000] 
may regulate by ordinance the ringing of bells and blowing of 
whistles and sirens within its limits.  Compliance with the 
ordinance is compliance with those subsections and a sufficient 
warning to the public at a crossing the ordinance affects.
	(f)  The engineer in charge of a locomotive may not, except 
in an emergency, use a sounding device when approaching the place 
where the railroad crosses a public road or street if an approved 
alternative or supplemental safety measure is in operation at the 
crossing.  In this subsection, "approved alternative or 
supplemental safety measure" means a traffic control device that 
the Federal Railroad Administration by rule has determined to be 
effective in preventing the careless movement by motorists over a 
crossing.  The term includes:
		(1)  a stationary automated warning device;                            
		(2)  a median island;                                                  
		(3)  four quadrant gates; or                                           
		(4)  three quadrant gates.                                             
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies 
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this 
Act.
	(b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this 
Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For 
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the 
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was 
committed before that date.