BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2457

By: Meyer

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Molly Mullens was killed in a head-on collision on March 16, 2024, when returning home from a spring break trip with her family after a driver lost control and crossed a median on U.S. Highway 287. After learning from local law enforcement that this stretch of highway is known as an accident "hot spot," the Mullens family worked with State Representative Meyer's office and the Texas Department of Transportation to improve safety by replacing cable barriers with concrete barriers, hoping to prevent future accidents. C.S.H.B. 2457 seeks to honor Molly Mullens and the efforts her family made in her memory to improve safety by designating a portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County as the Molly Mullens Mile.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2457 amends the Transportation Code to designate the portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County between its intersection with County Road 111 and County Road 132 East as the Molly Mullens Mile, in addition to any other designation. The bill requires the Texas Department of Transportation, subject to a grant or donation of funds, to do the following:

· design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Molly Mullens Mile and any other appropriate information; and

· erect a marker at each end of the highway and at appropriate intermediate sites along the highway.

C.S.H.B. 2457 establishes the legislature's intent that the provisions added by the bill be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2457 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced designated the portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County between its intersection with County Road 111 and County Road 132 East as the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway, the substitute designates that portion as the Molly Mullens Mile.