BILL ANALYSIS
By: Eiland
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Cedar Crossing Business Park is comprised of 12,000 acres of land set aside only for business and industrial development. The Park offers all utilities and is the hub for intermodal transportation. In addition to rail, highway, and barge service; the site is located only a short distance from the Port of Houston’s Barbours Cut Terminal. However, problems with highway shipments have recently arisen. The problem now impeding the fulfillment of the Parks job growth and investment potential is the restriction placed upon trucks moving containers entering from or destined for overseas shipment. Because of the shipping costs, overseas customers demand their containers be loaded to maximum capacity. However, any container moved by truck is restricted to the weight limit established by the Texas Department of Highways. HB 1044 seeks to designate only the roadways within Cedar Crossing Business Park as “Heavy Haul Roads” raising the weight limits to 100,000 pounds per truck and removing the overweight permits and fees. Roads to be included are FM 1405 south from the HL & P discharge canal to its terminus with FM 2354, and Spur 99 frontage roads from the east boundary of Cedar Bayou stream to the point at which it takes a northeast turn. All roads are located in Chambers County and are within Cedar Crossing Business Park.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
SECTION 1:
Adds Sec. 622.955 to the Transportation Code. This section creates an exemption to the weight requirements laid out in Section 621.101 allowing vehicles operating on the sections of FM 1405, FM 2354, and State Highway 99 located within the Cedar Crossing Business Park in Chambers County. This section does not allow for exemptions of federal weight requirements on the national interstate and defense highways .
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2005.