79R12924 E
By: Talton H.B. No. 2799
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2799:
By: Bailey C.S.H.B. No. 2799
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the removal of vehicles and property from a roadway in a
political subdivision and to the authority of a political
subdivision to establish a traffic incident management program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 542.203(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Unless permitted by an agreement between the local
authority and the Texas Department of Transportation under Section
221.002, a [A] local authority may not:
(1) erect or maintain a traffic-control device to
direct the traffic on a state highway, including a farm-to-market
or ranch-to-market road, to stop or yield before entering or
crossing an intersecting highway; or
(2) establish a transportation or mobility
enhancement program on a state highway, including a farm-to-market
or ranch-to-market road, such as a program by which the
municipality receives revenue for towing of vehicles located on the
highway [unless permitted by agreement between the local authority
and the Texas Department of Transportation under Section 221.002].
SECTION 2. Section 545.001, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 545.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
(1) "Pass" [, "pass"] or "passing" used in reference
to a vehicle means to overtake and proceed past another vehicle
moving in the same direction as the passing vehicle or to attempt
that maneuver.
(2) "Safe drop location" means a location that is well
lighted, has a public telephone, and has public restrooms.
(3) "Towing company" means an individual,
corporation, partnership, or other association engaged in the
business of towing vehicles on a highway for compensation or with
the expectation of compensation for the towing or storage of the
vehicles and includes the owner, operator, employee, or agent of a
towing company.
(4) "Vehicle storage facility" means a garage, parking
lot, or other facility that is operated by a person who holds a
license issued under Chapter 2303, Occupations Code, to operate the
garage, parking lot, or other facility.
SECTION 3. Sections 545.305(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A peace officer listed in [under] Article 2.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or a license and weight inspector of the
department may remove or require the operator or a person in charge
of a vehicle to move a vehicle from a highway if the vehicle:
(1) is unattended on a bridge, viaduct, or causeway or
in a tube or tunnel and the vehicle is obstructing traffic;
(2) is unlawfully parked and blocking the entrance to
a private driveway;
(3) has been reported as stolen;
(4) is identified as having been stolen in a warrant
issued on the filing of a complaint;
(5) is unattended and the officer has reasonable
grounds to believe that the vehicle has been abandoned for longer
than 48 hours;
(6) is disabled so that normal operation is impossible
or impractical and the owner or person in charge of the vehicle is:
(A) incapacitated and unable to provide for the
vehicle's removal or custody; or
(B) not in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle;
(7) is disabled so that normal operation is impossible
or impractical and the owner or person in charge of the vehicle does
not designate a particular towing or vehicle storage facility
[company];
(8) is operated by a person an officer arrests for an
alleged offense and the officer is required by law to take the
person into custody; or
(9) is, in the opinion of the officer, a hazard,
interferes with a normal function of a governmental agency, or
because of a catastrophe, emergency, or unusual circumstance is
imperiled.
(b) An officer acting under Subsection (a) may require that
the vehicle be taken to:
(1) a safe drop location [the nearest garage or other
place of safety];
(2) a garage designated or maintained by the
governmental agency that employs the officer; [or]
(3) a vehicle storage facility; or
(4) a position off the paved or main traveled part of
the highway.
SECTION 4. Section 545.3051(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The owner and any carrier of personal property removed
under this section shall reimburse the authority, [or] law
enforcement agency, or towing company for any reasonable cost of
removal and disposition of the property.
SECTION 5. Subchapter G, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 545.309 to read as follows:
Sec. 545.309. TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. (a) In
this section, "traffic incident" means a nonrecurrent event that
causes a temporary reduction in roadway capacity or an abnormal
increase in traffic demand on a roadway or right-of-way.
(b) A political subdivision may establish a traffic
incident management program to provide for the safe and efficient
removal of personal property from a roadway or right-of-way in the
political subdivision.
(c) As part of its traffic incident management program, a
political subdivision:
(1) may enter into agreements with towing companies to
provide traffic incident management towing;
(2) may not impose a fee or charge that exceeds two
percent of the annual gross receipts for traffic incident
management towing; and
(3) shall apply all revenue generated by any fees or
charges assessed under Subdivision (2) to the traffic incident
management program.
(d) A political subdivision may pay a towing company for
traffic incident management towing and storage. If a political
subdivision does not pay the towing company, the owner of a vehicle
that is towed or stored under this section is liable for all
reasonable towing and storage fees incurred.
(e) In connection with its traffic incident management
program, a political subdivision shall comply with Section 643.204
and ensure that fees collected from the owner or operator of a
vehicle involved in a traffic incident for services provided by a
towing company do not exceed the allowable amounts established by
the political subdivision under that section.
(f) A towing company that provides traffic incident
management towing:
(1) shall maintain insurance as required by Chapter
643 and comply with each fee provision in that chapter;
(2) may not use a driver who:
(A) is not certified by the National Drivers
Certification Program of the Towing and Recovery Association of
America for the size tow truck to be driven; or
(B) has been convicted of a felony in the
preceding seven years;
(3) shall provide annual training for drivers in
incident practices; and
(4) shall provide appropriate equipment for the towing
and recovery of light duty or heavy duty vehicles in accordance with
the vehicle manufacturer's towing guidelines.
(g) To ensure compliance with Subsection (f)(2), a towing
company shall verify the criminal record of each driver through the
criminal history record information maintained by the Department of
Public Safety. A political subdivision may impose stricter
limitations on the employment of drivers with felony convictions
than the limitation established by this section.
(h) A vehicle that is towed in connection with a traffic
incident management program must be taken to:
(1) a safe drop location;
(2) a garage designated or maintained by the political
subdivision;
(3) a vehicle storage facility; or
(4) a position off the paved or main traveled part of
the roadway or right-of-way.
(i) A traffic incident management program must comply with
Chapter 15, Business & Commerce Code.
SECTION 6. 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, 2005.