By: Staples S.B. No. 619
(In the Senate - Filed February 21, 2005; March 1, 2005,
read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and
Homeland Security; April 7, 2005, reported adversely, with
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9,
Nays 0; April 7, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 619 By: Staples
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of certain standards for commercial
motor vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 621.001, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (12) to read as follows:
(12) "Port of entry" means a place designated by
executive order of the president of the United States, by order of
the United States secretary of the treasury, or by act of the United
States Congress at which a customs officer is authorized to accept
entries of merchandise, collect duties, and enforce customs and
navigation laws. The term includes a publicly owned or privately
owned international port of entry between this state and the United
Mexican States.
SECTION 2. Subsection (c), Section 621.101, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) This section does not:
(1) authorize size or weight limits on the national
system of interstate and defense highways in this state greater
than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section 127, as amended; [or]
(2) prohibit the operation of a vehicle or combination
of vehicles that could be lawfully operated on a highway or road of
this state on December 16, 1974; or
(3) apply to a vehicle or combination of vehicles that
operates exclusively:
(A) at a private port of entry;
(B) on private roads associated with the port of
entry; and
(C) across a public highway between private roads
associated with the port of entry under a contract under Section
623.052.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 621.408, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) If a noncommissioned employee weighs a vehicle under
Section 621.402 and determines that an enforcement action, such as
the issuance of a citation, is warranted, the employee may take
enforcement action only if the employee is under the supervision of
an officer of the Department of Public Safety [only a supervising
officer may take the action].
SECTION 4. Section 644.001, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (7) to read as follows:
(7) "Port of entry" has the meaning assigned by
Section 621.001.
SECTION 5. Subsection (d), Section 644.103, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) A noncommissioned employee of the department who is
certified for the purpose by the director and who is supervised by
an officer of the department may, at a fixed-site facility, stop,
enter, or detain a motor vehicle that is subject to this chapter.
If the employee's inspection shows that an enforcement action, such
as the issuance of a citation, is warranted for a violation of this
title or a rule adopted under this title, including a federal safety
regulation adopted under this chapter, the noncommissioned
employee may take enforcement action only if the employee is under
the supervision of an officer of the department.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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