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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to oversize or overweight vehicles transporting livestock |
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feed, grain, or grain by-products. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 621.508(a), Transportation Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an |
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action under Subchapter F for, the offense of operating a vehicle |
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with a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the |
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axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the |
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vehicle: |
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(1) had a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that |
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was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law plus 12 |
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percent; |
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(2) was loaded with: |
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(A) timber, pulp wood, wood chips, [or] cotton, |
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livestock, livestock feed, grain, or grain by-products; or |
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(B) other agricultural products that are: |
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(i) [(A)] in their natural state; and |
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(ii) [(B)] being transported from the place |
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of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; |
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and |
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(3) was not being operated on a portion of the national |
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system of interstate and defense highways. |
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SECTION 2. Section 621.508(a), Transportation Code, as |
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amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or |
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after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before |
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the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on |
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the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued |
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in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element |
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of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |