82R23214 NAJ-F

By: Fletcher H.B. No. 3550

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3550:

By: Phillips C.S.H.B. No. 3550

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to imposing a law enforcement fee for certain offenses, violations, and disqualifications related to commercial motor vehicles and to weight limits on a vehicle loaded with certain agricultural products.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 522, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 522.093 to read as follows:

Sec. 522.093. LAW ENFORCEMENT FEE. (a) The department shall assess a law enforcement fee in the amount of $2,000 against a person who holds a commercial driver's license and is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle under:

(1) Section 522.081(d)(2), if the person knowingly committed a felony described by that subdivision; or

(2) Section 522.081(d)(4).

(b) A fee collected under this section shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund and may be appropriated only for law enforcement purposes.

SECTION 2. Section 621.506, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b-1) In addition to a fine assessed under Subsection (b), a court shall assess a law enforcement fee in the amount of $500 against a person who commits an offense under this section. A fee collected under this subsection shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund and may be appropriated only for law enforcement purposes.

SECTION 3. Section 621.508, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 621.508. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR OPERATING VEHICLE OVER MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT OR AXLE WEIGHT. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an action under Subchapter F for, the offense of operating a vehicle with:

(1) a gross weight heavier than the gross weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle:

(A) had a gross weight that was not heavier than the gross weight authorized by law plus 15 percent;

(B) was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood chips, or cotton, livestock, or other agricultural products that are:

(i) in their natural state; and

(ii) being transported from the place of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and

(C) was not being operated on a portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways; or

(2) a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle:

(A) [(1)] had a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law plus 12 percent;

(B) [(2)] was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood chips, or cotton, livestock, or other agricultural products that are:

(i) [(A)] in their natural state; and

(ii) [(B)] being transported from the place of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and

(C) [(3)] was not being operated on a portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways.

SECTION 4. Section 623.272, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) If the department imposes an administrative penalty on a shipper under this section, the department shall assess, in addition to the penalty, a law enforcement fee in the amount of $500 against the shipper. A fee collected under this subsection shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund and may be appropriated only for law enforcement purposes.

SECTION 5. Sections 621.503(b) and (c), Transportation Code, are repealed.

SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a violation that occurs or an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs or an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the violation occurred or the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(b) For purposes of Subsection (a) of this section, a violation occurred or an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the violation or offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.