Amend SB 1524 (house committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter B, Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 623.0172 to read as follows:
Sec. 623.0172. SEALED OCEAN CARGO SHIPPING CONTAINERS ON U.S. HIGHWAY 71. (a) In this section, "sealed ocean cargo shipping container" means an enclosed, standardized, reusable container that:
(1) is used to pack, ship, move, or transport cargo;
(2) is designed to be carried on a trailer or semitrailer and loaded onto or unloaded from:
(A) a vessel for international transportation; or
(B) a rail system for international transportation; and
(3) when combined with vehicles transporting the container, has a gross weight or axle weight that exceeds the limits allowed by this subtitle.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (j), the department shall issue an annual permit for the movement of a sealed ocean cargo shipping container moving in international commerce on a trailer or semitrailer with three axles if the combination of vehicles transporting the container is equipped with a roll stability support safety system and truck blind spot systems and has:
(1) a single axle weight of not more than 20,000 pounds;
(2) a tandem axle weight of not more than 34,000 pounds;
(3) a tri-axle weight of not more than 51,000 pounds; and
(4) a gross weight of not more than 95,000 pounds.
(c) The department shall restrict vehicles operating under a permit issued under this section to the portion of U.S. Highway 71 maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation that is between the Red River and the southernmost entry road to Interstate Highway 49.
(d) A sealed ocean cargo shipping container being moved under a permit issued under this section must be continuously sealed from the point of origin to the point of destination with a seal that is required by:
(1) the United States Customs and Border Protection;
(2) the United States Food and Drug Administration; or
(3) federal law or regulation.
(e) A permit issued under this section does not authorize the operation of a vehicle combination described by Subsection (b) on load-restricted roads or bridges, including a road or bridge for which a maximum weight and load limit has been established and posted by the Texas Department of Transportation under Section 621.102.
(f) A permit issued under this section does not authorize the transportation of a material designated as of January 1, 2017, as a hazardous material by the United States secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. Section 5103(a).
(g) The department shall set the fee for a permit issued under this section in an amount not to exceed $2,000.
(h) Of the fee collected under this section for a permit:
(1) 90 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund; and
(2) 10 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund.
(i) A fee deposited under Subsection (h)(1) may only be used for transportation projects in the Texas Department of Transportation district in which the portion of U.S. Highway 71 described by Subsection (c) is located.
(j) The department may suspend a permit issued under this section if the department receives notice from the Federal Highway Administration that the operation of a vehicle under a permit authorized by this section would result in the loss of federal highway funding.