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H.B. No. 3554
AN ACT
relating to motor vehicle inspection facilities near the border of
this state and Mexico.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 201.613, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 201.613. ONE-STOP BORDER INSPECTION FACILITIES
[STATIONS]. (a) The department shall erect and maintain border
[choose a location for an] inspection facilities [station] along a
major highway at or near a border crossing from Mexico in the Pharr
[Brownsville], [in] Laredo, and [in] El Paso districts for the
inspection of motor vehicles for compliance with federal and state
commercial motor vehicle regulations [so that all federal, state,
and municipal agencies that regulate the passage of persons or
vehicles across the border at that border crossing may be located in
one place].
(b) If a facility that serves a bridge that had more than
900,000 commercial border crossings during the state fiscal year
ending August 31, 2002, is to be located in a municipality or a
municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, the municipality may
choose the location of the facility within the municipality or the
municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The municipality
shall choose a location not later than the 180th day after the date
the department makes a request for a location.
(1) Only one inspection facility shall be constructed
in the municipality referred to in this subsection.
(2) In determining the location for the border
inspection facility, the municipality shall obtain and pay for an
independent study completed by a university that conducts
transportation studies or any other entity that conducts
transportation studies to identify commercial truck traffic
patterns for the location at which the facility is to be located and
ensure that the location shall have adequate capacity to conduct a
sufficient number of meaningful vehicle safety inspections as
required by Safety of Cross-Border Trucking Between United States
and Mexico (Pub. L. No. 107-87, Section 350(9)) (49 U.S.C. Section
13902).
(c) To the extent the department considers appropriate to
expedite commerce, the department shall provide for implementation
by the appropriate agencies of the use of Intelligent
Transportation Systems for Commercial Vehicle Operations (ITS/CVO)
in:
(1) any new commercial motor vehicle inspection
facility constructed; and
(2) any existing facility to which this section
applies.
(d) Implementation of systems under Subsection (c) must be
based on the Texas ITS/CVO business plan prepared by the
department, the Department of Public Safety, and the comptroller.
The department shall coordinate with other state and federal
transportation officials to develop interoperability standards for
the systems.
(e) In implementing systems under Subsection (c) in the
construction of a facility, the department to the greatest extent
possible shall:
(1) enhance efficiency and reduce complexity for motor
carriers by providing:
(A) a single point of contact between carriers
and state and federal officials regulating the carriers; and
(B) a single point of information, available to
wireless access, about federal and state regulatory and enforcement
requirements;
(2) prevent duplication of state and federal
procedures and locations for regulatory and enforcement
activities, including consolidation of collection of applicable
fees;
(3) link information systems of the department, the
Department of Public Safety, the comptroller, and, to the extent
possible, the United States Department of Transportation and other
appropriate regulatory and enforcement entities; and
(4) take other necessary action to:
(A) facilitate the flow of commerce;
(B) assist federal interdiction efforts;
(C) protect the environment by reducing idling
time of commercial motor vehicles at the facilities;
(D) prevent highway damage caused by overweight
commercial motor vehicles; and
(E) seek federal funds to assist in the
implementation of this section. [The department shall establish
and maintain an inspection station at the locations chosen in
Subsection (a) only if the federal agencies involved in the
regulation of the passage of persons or vehicles at that border
crossing agree to the design of the facility at each location and
agree to use the facility at each location if built.
[(c) The department may enter into agreements with federal,
state, and municipal agencies to accomplish the purpose of this
section. An agreement may involve the lease of office space at the
inspection station by the department to the agency.]
SECTION 2. The Texas Department of Transportation shall
spend the money appropriated during the 76th Legislature for
Section 201.613, Transportation Code, as added by Chapter 1527,
Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, or money
received from the federal government to establish the border
inspection facilities under Section 201.613, Transportation Code,
as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3554 was passed by the House on May 8,
2003, by the following vote: Yeas 130, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3554 on May 29, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3554 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor