By: Perry  S.B. No. 971
         (In the Senate - Filed March 5, 2015; March 10, 2015, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
  April 20, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 20, 2015,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 971 By:  Huffines
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to requirements for certain farm vehicles when operating
  on a highway.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 541.201(6), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (6)  "Implement of husbandry" means:
                     (A)  a vehicle, other than a passenger car or
  truck, that is designed and adapted for use as a farm implement,
  machinery, or tool for tilling the soil;
                     (B)  a towed vehicle that transports to the field
  and spreads fertilizer or agricultural chemicals; or
                     (C)  a motor vehicle designed and adapted to
  deliver feed to livestock.
         SECTION 2.  Section 622.901, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 622.901.  WIDTH EXCEPTIONS.  (a)  In this section,
  "farm tractor" and "implement of husbandry" have the meanings
  assigned by Section 541.201.
         (b)  The width limitation provided by Section 621.201 does
  not apply to:
               (1)  highway building or maintenance machinery that is
  traveling:
                     (A)  during daylight on a public highway other
  than a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and
  defense highways; or
                     (B)  for not more than 50 miles on a highway that
  is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways;
               (2)  a vehicle traveling during daylight on a public
  highway other than a highway that is part of the national system of
  interstate and defense highways or traveling for not more than 50
  miles on a highway that is part of the national system of interstate
  and defense highways if the vehicle is:
                     (A)  a farm tractor or implement of husbandry; or
                     (B)  a vehicle on which a farm tractor or
  implement of husbandry, other than a tractor or implement being
  transported from one dealer to another, is being moved by the owner
  of the tractor or implement or by an agent or employee of the owner:
                           (i)  to deliver the tractor or implement to a
  new owner;
                           (ii)  to transport the tractor or implement
  to or from a mechanic for maintenance or repair; or
                           (iii)  in the course of an agricultural
  operation;
               (3)  machinery that is used solely for drilling water
  wells, including machinery that is a unit or a unit mounted on a
  conventional vehicle or chassis, and that is traveling:
                     (A)  during daylight on a public highway other
  than a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and
  defense highways; or
                     (B)  for not more than 50 miles on a highway that
  is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways;
               (4)  a vehicle owned or operated by a public, private,
  or volunteer fire department;
               (5)  a vehicle registered under Section 502.431; or
               (6)  a recreational vehicle to which Section 622.903
  applies.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
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