Bill Text: TX HB1651 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-09 - Referred to Transportation [HB1651 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB1651-Introduced.html

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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.