By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 511

(In the Senate - Filed January 29, 2019; February 14, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation; April 11, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 3; April 11, 2019, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 511 By: Hinojosa

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the installation of unsafe motor vehicle tires; providing a civil penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 547.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (9-a) to read as follows:

(9-a) "Unsafe tire" means a tire that:

(A) has tire tread less than one-sixteenth of an inch deep;

(B) has a localized worn spot that exposes the ply or cord through the tread;

(C) has a tread or sidewall crack, cut, or snag as measured on the outside of the tire that is more than an inch long and deep enough to expose the body cords;

(D) has any visible bump, bulge, or knot apparently related to tread or sidewall separation or partial failure of the tire structure, including the bead area;

(E) has been repaired temporarily by the use of a blowout patch or boot;

(F) has worn tread wear indicators that contact the road in any two adjacent major grooves in the center or middle of the tire; or

(G) does not otherwise meet applicable department safety standards for the tire adopted under Section 547.101.

SECTION 2. Section 547.612, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(f) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a person who owns or operates a business that installs tires on motor vehicles or an employee of the person may not install an unsafe tire on a motor vehicle to be used on a public street or highway. A person who violates this subsection is liable to this state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500. This subsection does not apply to the reinstallation of a tire on a motor vehicle that had been removed from the motor vehicle. Section 542.301 does not apply to a violation of this subsection.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.

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