BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 4156 |
By: Bonnen, Dennis |
Transportation |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that certain port authorities are authorized to issue permits for, and are provided optional routes for, the movement of oversize or overweight vehicles carrying cargo on certain state highways. These parties contend that allowing shippers to load containers to their maximum carrying weight can reduce transportation costs, the number of trucks on the road, and vehicle emissions. C.S.H.B. 4156 seeks to ensure the safety of citizens, visitors, and businesses on Texas roads by providing for the issuance of these permits in additional counties and for the diversion of larger trucks to more appropriate roadways in certain counties.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 4156 amends the Transportation Code to include among the counties in which the Texas Transportation Commission may authorize a port authority to issue permits for the movement of oversize or overweight vehicles carrying cargo on state highways counties contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or inlet opening into the gulf with a population of not more than 200,000 and adjacent to another county that is contiguous to the gulf or a bay or inlet opening into the gulf and adjacent to at least two counties with a population of 550,000 or more. The bill raises the cap on the fee collected by a port authority for such a permit from $80 per trip to $120 per trip.
C.S.H.B. 4156 includes among the routes that the commission is required to designate for a permit for oversize or overweight vehicles issued by a port authority located in a county that is adjacent to at least two counties with a population of 550,000 or more, with the port authority's consent, the most direct route from 5261 Seventh Street in Bay City to the entrance of Port Freeport using State Highway 35, Loop 419, State Highway 36, and Farm-to-Market Road 1495.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 4156 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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