By:  Janek                                                        S.B. No. 249


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the use of the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry operated by 
the Texas Department of Transportation.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 342, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 342.004 to read as follows:
	Sec. 342.004.  GALVESTON-PORT BOLIVAR FERRY VEHICLE 
STICKER.  (a)  The department may adopt rules to establish a system 
under which an owner of a motor vehicle registered under Chapter 502 
may apply to the department for issuance of a sticker for the 
vehicle that entitles the vehicle to have priority in boarding the 
Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry operated by the department.
	(b)  Any rules adopted under this section must:                         
		(1)  establish a design for the sticker;                               
		(2)  designate the place where a sticker must be 
affixed to the windshield of the motor vehicle for which it is 
issued;
		(3)  establish an annual fee for a ferry vehicle 
sticker;            
		(4)  prescribe forms necessary for the administration 
of this section; and
		(5)  ensure that a vehicle displaying a sticker issued 
under this section is given priority in boarding the Galveston-Port 
Bolivar ferry only until the ferry reaches 50 percent of its vehicle 
capacity.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                           


COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1

Amend S.B. 249 (Senate engrossment) as follows:                               

On page 2, between lines 1 and 2, insert the following new 
subsection.      

"(c)  The department shall deposit each fee collected under this 
section to the credit of the state highway fund."

                                                                      Phillips