BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 497
86R6502 TSS-F	By: Zaffirini
	Transportation
	3/4/2019
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Carlos Ray Warren of El Paso, a state trooper with the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas (DPS), was shot and killed in the line of duty when he interrupted an abduction in progress at a rural highway rest area on Highway 71 near Del Valle, Texas, on March 5, 1991.

With the support of his family, DPS colleagues, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, and the Travis County Commissioners Court, S.B. 497 would honor Officer Warren's life and sacrifice by dedicating a section of State Highway 71�including the section where he died in the line of duty�to his memory.

As proposed, S.B. 497 amends current law relating to the designation of a portion of State Highway 71 in Travis County as the Trooper Carlos Ray Warren Memorial Highway.

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 225.152, as follows:

Sec. 225.152. TROOPER CARLOS RAY WARREN MEMORIAL HIGHWAY. (a) Designates the portion of State Highway 71 in Travis County between its intersection with State Highway 130 and the Bastrop County line as the Trooper Carlos Ray Warren Memorial Highway. Provides that the designation is in addition to any other designation.

(b) Requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), subject to Section 225.021(c) (relating to prohibiting TxDOT from designing, constructing, or erecting a marker unless a grant or donation of funds is made to cover the cost), to:

(1) design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Trooper Carlos Ray Warren Memorial Highway 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, 2019.