By: Noriega H.B. No. 3450
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the inspection of trailers designed to carry intermodal
freight containers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 14, Occupations Code is
amended by adding Chapter 2306, to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2306. INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT ROADABILITY INSPECTIONS
Sec. 2306.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Department" means the Texas Department of
Transportation.
(2) "Chassis provider" means any entity, whether
public or private, located at a port facility that is charged with
providing and/or discharging intermodal chassis or trailers.
(3) "Intermodel chassis" or "chassis" means a trailer
designed to carry intermodal freight containers, or the definition
provided in 49 C.F.R. Section 393.5].
Sec. 2306.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) Any chassis provider
that receives and dispatches intermodal chassis shall implement and
carry out the intermodal chassis roadability inspection program, as
described in this chapter.
(b) No chassis provider shall tender to, or interchange
with, a motor carrier, an intermodal chassis that fails to pass the
inspection required by this chapter and that fails to meet the
requirements set forth in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
49 C.F.R. Section 396. Any chassis provider tendering to, or
interchanging with, a motor carrier such equipment shall provide
certification that the chassis has passed the inspection set forth
in this chapter. Any chassis provider who violates this Section of
the chapter shall be fined $500 per occurrence.
(c) Nothing in this chapter is meant to supercede the
inspection requirements and standards under 49 C.F.R. 396. Rather,
this chapter imposes an additional requirement that chassis
providers inspect chassis on a routine basis.
Sec. 2306.003. INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT ROADABILITY INSPECTION
PROGRAM. (a) Chassis providers shall inspect all chassis
pursuant to this Section before a container is placed on the
chassis, and before the chassis is released for operation. The
inspection shall include, but not be limited to, brake adjustment,
an inspection of brake system components and leaks, suspension
systems, tires and wheels, vehicle connecting devices, lights and
electrical systems, and a visual inspection of the chassis to
determine that it has not been tampered with.
(b) Each inspection shall be recorded on a daily roadability
inspection report that shall include, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
(1) Positive identification of the intermodal
chassis, including company identification number and vehicle
license plate number.
(2) Date and nature of each inspection.
(3) Signature, under penalty of perjury, of the
chassis provider or an authorized representative that the
inspection has been performed and that the chassis is roadworthy.
Individuals performing inspections pursuant to this Section shall
be qualified, at a minimum, as set forth in Section 49 C.F.R.
Section 396.19. Evidence of each inspector's qualification shall
be retained by the port or navigation district for the period of
time during which the inspector is performing such inspections and
30 days afterward. No inspector shall be threatened, coerced, or
otherwise retaliated against by a chassis provider for refusing to
pass a chassis that fails an inspection, or for designating a
chassis for repair. In the event that an inspector is so
threatened, the inspector shall be protected by and afforded all
rights and remedies provided in Chapter 545, Government Code.
Accordingly, any person who violates this Section of the chapter
shall be subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 554,
Government Code.
(4) As part of the inspection, the inspector shall
affix a tamper-proof green tag on a chassis that has passed
inspection and a red tag on a chassis that has failed inspection.
The tag shall contain the name of the inspector and the date and
time the inspection was completed and shall be placed on the
driver's side of the chassis next to the chassis' identification
plate. In addition, a red tag must specify the defects that
warranted the failed inspection and that require repair. The tag
shall be provided by the chassis provider and shall meet
specifications determined by the Department.
(c) Chassis shall be segregated according to that
designation. Green-tagged chassis shall be kept in an area
designated for interchange with motor carriers. Red-tagged chassis
shall be transported to an on-site facility where repairs and any
required maintenance may be performed. Defects identified during
any inspection of any intermodal chassis shall be repaired, and the
repairs shall be recorded on an intermodal chassis maintenance file
as defined in Section 2306.004, before the chassis is released from
the control of the chassis provider. No chassis subject to this
chapter shall be released to a motor carrier or operated on a public
road until all defects listed during the inspection have been
corrected, the chassis passes inspection, the chassis provider's
authorized representative attests to that fact and affixes a green
tag on the chassis.
(d) Any driver who believes that a chassis is in an unsafe
operating condition may request that the chassis be re-inspected by
the entity responsible for the inspection and maintenance of the
chassis pursuant to this chapter. In the event that such a request
is made, the driver:
(1) shall not be made responsible for delivery of the
chassis to the repair facility; and
(2) shall receive a green-tagged chassis without
delay. In the event a driver is forced to wait for one or more
hours, the chassis provider shall compensate the driver at a rate of
$100 per hour. Such a request, any corrective action taken, or the
reason why corrective action was not taken shall be recorded in the
intermodal chassis maintenance file under Section 2306.004.
Alternatively, the driver may contact a law enforcement agency with
regard to the physical condition of the chassis.
(e) No driver shall be threatened, coerced, or otherwise
retaliated against by a port or navigation district operator,
chassis provider, shipping company, steamship line, or motor
carrier for requesting that the intermodal chassis be re-inspected
or repaired or for contacting a law enforcement agency with regard
to the physical condition of a chassis. In the event that a
commercial driver is so threatened, coerced, or otherwise
retaliated against by a port or navigation district operator,
chassis provider, shipping company, steamship line, or motor
carrier for requesting that the intermodal chassis be re-inspected
or repaired or for contacting a law enforcement agency with regard
to the physical condition of a chassis, the driver shall be
protected by and afforded all rights and remedies provided in
Chapter 554, Government Code. Accordingly, any person who violates
this Section of the chapter shall be subject to the penalties
provided in Chapter 554, Government Code.
Sec. 2306.004. MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a)
Records of each inspection conducted pursuant to this chapter shall
be:
(1) maintained for 90 days by the chassis provider at
the port or navigation district where each chassis is inspected;
(2) made available upon request by any authorized
employee of the Department; and
(3) made available during normal business hours to any
motor carrier or driver or the authorized representative thereof
who has been engaged to transport an intermodal container on a
chassis inspected pursuant to this Section from the port or
navigation district.
(b) Records of maintenance or repairs performed pursuant to
the inspection in Section 2306.002 shall be:
(1) maintained for two years by the chassis provider;
and
(2) made available upon request of the Department.
(c) Requests for re-inspection made pursuant to Section
2306.003(d) shall be recorded in the intermodal chassis maintenance
file and shall be maintained and made available pursuant to Section
2306.004(a).
(d) All above-described records may be kept in a computer
system if printouts of those records may be provided upon request.
Sec. 2306.005. COMPLIANCE WITH INTERMODAL CHASSIS
ROADABILITY INSPECTION PROGRAM. (a) The Department shall conduct
random, but at least annual on-site reviews to determine whether
the chassis provider is complying with the requirements of this
chapter, including but not limited to inspection, tagging,
quarantine/repair, and record-keeping requirements. Following an
inspection in which the Department determines that a chassis
provider has failed to comply with any of the requirements of this
chapter, the Department shall:
(1) direct the chassis provider to comply immediately
with the requirements of the chapter;
(2) fine the chassis provider $100 for every day,
after the day of inspection, that the provider fails to comply with
the requirements of this chapter;
(3) after 10 days of non-compliance, immediately
forward a recommendation to the Department to suspend the
provider's motor carrier property permit, and forward a
recommendation to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
for administrative or other action deemed necessary against the
carrier's interstate operating authority.
(4) after 20 days on non-compliance, the chassis
provider's property permit shall be revoked.
(b) If any inspection results in an unsatisfactory rating
due to conditions presenting an imminent danger to the public
safety, the Department shall take actions pursuant to Section
2306.004(a)(3) and/or 2306.004(a)(4) of the chapter.
(c) Any police or highway patrol officer, while in the
performance of the duties of office, is authorized to enter upon and
perform inspections of green-tagged chassis at any port or
navigation district which are intended to be tendered to or
interchanged with a motor carrier for use on a highway. In the
event the officer determines that any green-tagged chassis is
unroadworthy, the chassis provider shall be fined $500 per
occurrence.
(d) Any citation issued for violation of this chapter
related to the defective condition of an intermodal chassis shall
be issued to the chassis provider responsible for the inspection
and maintenance of the chassis, providing that the chassis is not
owned by the driver and excepting that the defective condition of
the chassis was caused by the failure of the motor carrier or its
driver to operate the commercial vehicle in a safe manner.
Sec. 2306.006. CERTAIN CONTRACT PROVISIONS VOID. (a) Any
provision in a contract between an owner or lessee of an intermodal
chassis and a driver that contains a hold-harmless or indemnity
clause concerning defects in the physical condition of the
intermodal chassis shall be void as against public policy.
(b) This Section shall not apply to damage to the intermodal
chassis caused by the neglect or willful failure of the motor
carrier or its driver to operate the commercial vehicle in a safe
manner.
Sec. 2306.007. RULES. The Department shall adopt the rules
necessary to administer Chapter 2306, Occupations Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.