AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Eduardo Chavez was killed in the line of duty in May 2006, having suffered fatal injuries in a traffic accident that occurred on United States Highway 83, also known as the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, as he drove his patrol vehicle to assist his fellow trooper and brother with a felony narcotics stop.

 

Records note that Trooper Chavez was an Edinburg native from a law enforcement family, was a three-year veteran of the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas who previously had worked as a sheriff's deputy in Hidalgo County, and is survived by his wife of five years, Iliana.

 

Law enforcement officers who fall in the line of duty deserve recognition for their service, and a highway memorial allows Texans to acknowledge and pay respect to selfless individuals such as Trooper Chavez who put their lives at risk and sometimes pay the ultimate price to keep us safe. The goal of H.B. 442 is to commemorate the life and service of Trooper Eduardo Chavez.

 

H.B. 442 amends current law relating to the recognition of a portion of U.S. Highway 83 as a memorial to Trooper Eduardo Chavez.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 225, Transportation Code, by adding Section 225.091, as follows:

 

Sec. 225.091.  TROOPER EDUARDO CHAVEZ MEMORIAL HIGHWAY.  (a)  Requires that the portion of U.S. Highway 83 in Starr County from the eastern boundary of Starr County to Farm-to-Market Road 2360 or the most appropriate point west of Farm-to-Market Road 2360, as determined by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), serve as a memorial to Trooper Eduardo Chavez.

 

(b)  Requires TxDOT, subject to Section 225.021(c) (providing that TxDOT is not required to design, construct, or erect a marker under Subchapter B (Specific State Highway Names) unless a grant or donation of funds is made to TxDOT to cover the cost of the design, construction, and erection of the marker), to:

 

(1)  design and construct markers indicating that the portion of U.S. Highway 83 described in Subsection (a) is a memorial to Trooper Eduardo Chavez, and any other appropriate information; and

 

(2)  erect a marker at each end of the highway and at appropriate intermediate sites along the highway.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 2013.