By: Watson S.B. No. 2018

(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2009; March 24, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security; April 22, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 22, 2009, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2018 By: Watson

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to neighborhood vehicles and golf carts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 502.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (14-a) to read as follows:

(14-a) "Neighborhood vehicle" means a golf cart operated in accordance with Section 551.303, a vehicle subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 500 (49 C.F.R. Section 571.500), or a motor vehicle that is designed to carry persons or property and to travel more than 10 but not more than 35 miles per hour and that is designated as a neighborhood vehicle by the department. The term does not include an all-terrain vehicle, farm tractor, implement of husbandry, or road tractor.

SECTION 2. Section 502.0071, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 502.0071. GOLF CARTS. (a) An owner of a golf cart is not required to title or register the golf cart if:

(1) the operation of the golf cart occurs in the daytime, as defined by Section 541.401; and

(2) the operation:

(A) [does not exceed a distance of two miles from the point of origin to the destination if driven to and from a golf course;

[(B)] occurs entirely within a master planned community with a uniform set of restrictive covenants that has had a plat approved by a county or a municipality; or

(B) [(C)] occurs on a public or private beach.

(b) An owner of a golf cart may title and register the golf cart as a neighborhood vehicle.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 502.0076 to read as follows:

Sec. 502.0076. OPERATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD VEHICLE ON STREET OR HIGHWAY. An owner shall register a neighborhood vehicle before operating the vehicle on a street or highway. This section does not authorize the operation of a neighborhood vehicle on a public road on which operation of the vehicle is otherwise prohibited by law.

SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 502.169 to read as follows:

Sec. 502.169. FEE: NEIGHBORHOOD VEHICLE. The fee for registration of a neighborhood vehicle is $30.

SECTION 5. The heading to Section 504.510, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 504.510. NEIGHBORHOOD VEHICLE [GOLF CART] LICENSE PLATES.

SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 504.510, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The department shall issue specialty license plates for an eligible neighborhood vehicle [golf cart].

SECTION 7. Section 547.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (5-a) to read as follows:

(5-a) "Neighborhood vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 502.001.

SECTION 8. Section 547.002, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 547.002. APPLICABILITY. Unless a provision is specifically made applicable, this chapter and the rules of the department adopted under this chapter do not apply to:

(1) an implement of husbandry;

(2) road machinery;

(3) a road roller;

(4) a farm tractor;

(5) a bicycle, a bicyclist, or bicycle equipment;

(6) an electric bicycle, an electric bicyclist, or electric bicycle equipment; or

(7) a golf cart not required to be registered because it is only operated in the manner described by [under] Section 502.0071 [502.284].

SECTION 9. The heading to Section 547.703, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 547.703. ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR SLOW-MOVING AND NEIGHBORHOOD VEHICLES.

SECTION 10. Subsection (d), Section 547.703, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) A neighborhood vehicle that can attain a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour or less on a paved level surface [golf cart as defined by Section 502.001] is required to display a slow-moving-vehicle emblem [only] when [it is] operated on a [an arterial] street or highway.

SECTION 11. Section 548.051, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:

(c) Except as provided in Subsection (d), a neighborhood vehicle registered in this state must have the following items inspected at an inspection station or by an inspector:

(1) headlamps;

(2) rear lamps;

(3) reflectors;

(4) parking brake; and

(5) mirrors.

(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a neighborhood vehicle that is subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 500 (49 C.F.R. Section 571.500) also must comply with those equipment standards.

SECTION 12. The heading to Subchapter D, Chapter 551, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER D. NEIGHBORHOOD [ELECTRIC] VEHICLES

SECTION 13. Subdivision (1), Section 551.301, Transportation Code, as amended by Chapter 281 (H.B. 2702), Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Neighborhood [electric] vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 502.001 [means a vehicle subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 500 (49 C.F.R. Section 571.500)].

SECTION 14. Section 551.302, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 551.302. REGISTRATION. The Texas Department of Transportation may adopt rules relating to the registration and issuance of license plates to neighborhood [electric] vehicles.

SECTION 15. Section 551.303, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 551.303. OPERATION ON ROADWAYS. (a) An owner shall register a neighborhood vehicle under Section 502.0076 before operating the vehicle on a street or highway. A neighborhood [electric] vehicle may be operated only on a street or highway for which the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. A neighborhood [electric] vehicle may cross a road or street [at an intersection] where the [road or street has a] posted speed limit is [of] more than 35 miles per hour only at an intersection.

(b) A county or municipality may prohibit the operation of a neighborhood [electric] vehicle on a street or highway if the governing body of the county or municipality determines that the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

(c) The Texas Department of Transportation may prohibit the operation of a neighborhood [electric] vehicle on a public highway, as defined by Section 502.001, if that department determines that the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

(d) The owner of a neighborhood vehicle shall comply with the licensing requirement of Chapter 521, and the requirements of Chapters 547 and 548, as applicable.

SECTION 16. Subsection (a), Section 601.052, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Section 601.051 does not apply to:

(1) the operation of a motor vehicle that:

(A) is a former military vehicle or is at least 25 years old;

(B) is used only for exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and not for regular transportation; and

(C) for which the owner files with the department an affidavit, signed by the owner, stating that the vehicle is a collector's item and used only as described by Paragraph (B);

(2) the operation of a golf cart not required to be registered because it is only operated in the manner described by [under] Section 502.0071 [502.284]; or

(3) a volunteer fire department for the operation of a motor vehicle the title of which is held in the name of a volunteer fire department.

SECTION 17. The following provisions of the Transportation Code are repealed:

(1) Subsections (b), (c), and (d), Section 504.510;

(2) Subsection (e), Section 547.703;

(3) Section 551.301, as amended by Chapter 1242 (H.B. 1596), Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005; and

(4) Subdivision (2), Section 551.301, as amended by Chapter 281 (H.B. 2702), Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005.

SECTION 18. 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, 2009.

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