79R5725 JD-F

By:  Staples                                                      S.B. No. 1074



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Public Safety 
or the public safety director to adopt rules in connection with 
commercial motor vehicles.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 644.053(a) and (b), Transportation 
Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A rule adopted under this chapter may not:                                
		(1)  prevent an intrastate operator from operating a 
vehicle up to 12 hours following eight consecutive hours off;
		(2)  require a person to meet the medical standards 
provided in the federal motor carrier safety regulations if the 
person:
			(A)  was regularly employed in this state as a 
commercial motor vehicle operator in intrastate commerce before 
August 28, 1989; and
			(B)  is not transporting property that requires a 
hazardous material placard;
		(3)  require a person who complies with each hourly 
requirement in 49 C.F.R. Section 395.1(e) and operates within a 150 
air-mile radius of the normal work-reporting location to maintain a 
driver's record of duty status as described by 49 C.F.R. Section 
395.8, provided that the person maintains time records in 
compliance with 49 C.F.R. Section 395.1(e)(5) and documents that 
verify the truth and accuracy of the time records such as
[government form, separate company form, operator's record of duty 
status, or operator's daily log for operations within a 150-mile 
radius of the normal work-reporting location if a general record of 
an operator's hours of service can be compiled from]:
			(A)  business records maintained by the owner that 
provide the date, time, and location of the delivery of a product or 
service; or
			(B)  documents required to be maintained by law, 
including delivery tickets or sales invoices, that provide the date 
of delivery and the quantity of merchandise delivered; or
		(4)  impose during a planting or harvesting season 
maximum driving and on-duty times on an operator of a vehicle 
transporting an agricultural commodity in intrastate commerce for 
agricultural purposes from the source of the commodity to the first 
place of processing or storage or the distribution point for the 
commodity, if the place is located within 150 air miles of the 
source.
	(b)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(3)(A), an owner's time 
[business] records must at a minimum [generally] include:
		(1)  the time an operator reports for duty each day;                          
		(2)  the number of hours an operator is on duty each 
day;                   
		(3)  the time an operator is released from duty each 
day; and               
		(4)  an operator's signed statement in compliance with 
49 C.F.R. Section 395.8(j)(2).
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.