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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the offense of obstructing emergency vehicles at |
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certain railroad crossings; providing a penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 471, Transportation Code, is amended by |
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adding Section 471.0075 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 471.0075. OBSTRUCTING CERTAIN RAILROAD CROSSINGS; |
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OFFENSE. (a) A railway company commits an offense if: |
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(1) a train of the railway company obstructs for more |
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than 10 minutes a street, railroad crossing, or public highway; and |
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(2) as a result, an authorized emergency vehicle, as |
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defined by Section 541.201, is prevented from responding to an |
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emergency. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor |
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punishable by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000. |
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(c) An officer charging a railway company for an offense |
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under this section shall prepare in duplicate a citation to appear |
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in court and attach one copy of the citation to the train or deliver |
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the copy to an employee or other agent of the railway company. The |
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citation must show: |
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(1) the name of the railway company; |
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(2) the offense charged; and |
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(3) the time and place that a representative of the |
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railway company is to appear in court. |
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(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that |
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the train obstructs the street, railroad crossing, or public |
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highway because of an act of God or breakdown of the train. |
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(e) The hearing must be before a magistrate who has |
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jurisdiction of the offense in the municipality or county in which |
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the offense is alleged to have been committed. |
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(f) An appearance by counsel complies with the written |
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promise to appear in court. |
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(g) This section applies only to a county that has a |
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population of 425,000 or more and is adjacent to two or more |
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counties, each of which has a population of 1.4 million or more. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |