BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4542

By: Orr

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that Cecil and Dorothy Bell were longtime residents of Leon County who were deeply involved in their community and church. Cecil Bell, Sr. was a longtime local small businessman and Dorothy Bell served on the Oakwood City Council and as mayor for 11 years. The couple left a lasting impact on the community, and local leaders have supported designating a portion of U.S. Highway 79 in Freestone and Leon Counties as the Cecil and Dorothy Bell Memorial Highway. C.S.H.B. 4542 seeks to memorialize Cecil and Dorothy Bell's commitment to their community by designating a portion of U.S. Highway 79 in their honor.

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. 4542 amends the Transportation Code to designate the portion of U.S. Highway 79 in Freestone and Leon Counties between its intersection with U.S. Highway 84 and its intersection with the western municipal limits of Oakwood as the Cecil and Dorothy Bell Memorial Highway, 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 Cecil and Dorothy Bell Memorial Highway 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. 4542 establishes the legislature's intent that the bill's provisions 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. 4542 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.

The substitute changes the portion of U.S. Highway 79 in Freestone and Leon Counties that the bill designates as the Cecil and Dorothy Bell Memorial Highway from between its intersection with the Trinity River and its intersection with the western municipal limits of Oakwood, as in the introduced, to between its intersection with U.S. Highway 84 and its intersection with the western municipal limits of Oakwood.