87R2896 BEE-D
 
  By: Wilson H.B. No. 1651
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a study by the Texas Department of Transportation on the
  feasibility of charging a pavement consumption fee for the
  operation of certain motor vehicles on public highways.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
               (1)  "Department" means the Texas Department of
  Transportation.
               (2)  "Governmental entity" means:
                     (A)  a board, commission, department, office, or
  other agency in the executive branch of state government; or
                     (B)  a political subdivision of this state.
               (3)  "Highway" has the meaning assigned by Section
  366.003, Transportation Code.
         SECTION 2.  STUDY AND REPORT; PROTOTYPE SOFTWARE. (a) The
  department, in consultation with The University of Texas Center for
  Transportation Research and the Texas A&M Transportation
  Institute, shall conduct a study on the feasibility of:
               (1)  charging a pavement consumption fee in the amount
  of the reasonable cost to repair damage to the pavement of a highway
  caused by the normal operation of a vehicle operating on a highway
  in this state:
                     (A)  that is subject to the federal electronic
  logging device requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 395; or
                     (B)  if operating only in intrastate commerce,
  that would be subject to the federal electronic logging device
  requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 395 if operating in interstate or
  international commerce; and
               (2)  adjusting or eliminating registration or permit
  fees that are wholly or partly used for the maintenance of a highway
  by a governmental entity and imposed on commercial motor vehicles
  subject to the pavement consumption fee.
         (b)  In conducting the study, the department shall:
               (1)  develop a system to:
                     (A)  determine the governmental entity
  responsible for the maintenance of each section of a highway on
  which a commercial motor vehicle subject to the pavement
  consumption fee is operated;
                     (B)  establish rates for the pavement consumption
  fee that reflect the cost per mile to repair damage to the pavement
  of each section of highway caused by the normal operation of a
  commercial motor vehicle subject to the fee; and
                     (C)  calculate the total amount of the fee due for
  a reporting period from the operator of a commercial motor vehicle
  subject to the pavement consumption fee;
               (2)  recommend rules to:
                     (A)  administer, collect, and enforce the
  pavement consumption fee; and
                     (B)  distribute the fee to the governmental entity
  responsible for maintaining a section of a highway on which a
  commercial motor vehicle subject to the pavement consumption fee is
  operated; and
               (3)  identify any registration or permit fee that is
  wholly or partly used for the maintenance of a highway by a
  governmental entity and imposed on a commercial motor vehicle
  subject to the pavement consumption fee.
         (c)  The department shall develop a prototype of any software
  required for a system developed under Subsection (b)(1) of this
  section.
         (d)  Not later than November 1, 2022, the department shall
  submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
  legislature a written report on the findings of the study. The
  report must include recommendations for policy and statutory
  changes, including any proposed legislation, that are based on the
  results of the study.
         SECTION 3.  EXPIRATION. This Act expires May 1, 2023.
         SECTION 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September
  1, 2021.