Bill Text: TX HB3460 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the movement of vehicles transporting sealed ocean cargo shipping containers; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-12 - Returned to Calendars Committee [HB3460 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3460-Comm_Sub.html
85R23194 JRR-D | |||
By: VanDeaver | H.B. No. 3460 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3460: | |||
By: White | C.S.H.B. No. 3460 |
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relating to the movement of vehicles transporting sealed ocean | ||
cargo shipping containers; authorizing a fee. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 623, Transportation Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 623.0172 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 623.0172. SEALED OCEAN CARGO SHIPPING CONTAINERS. (a) | ||
In this section, "sealed ocean cargo shipping container" means an | ||
enclosed, standardized, reusable container that: | ||
(1) is used to pack, ship, move, or transport cargo; | ||
(2) is designed to be carried on a trailer or | ||
semitrailer and loaded onto or unloaded from: | ||
(A) a vessel for international transportation; | ||
or | ||
(B) a rail system for international | ||
transportation; and | ||
(3) when combined with vehicles transporting the | ||
container, has a gross weight or axle weight that exceeds the limits | ||
allowed by this subtitle. | ||
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (k), the department | ||
shall issue an annual permit for the movement of a sealed ocean | ||
cargo shipping container moving in international commerce on a | ||
trailer or semitrailer with three axles if the combination of | ||
vehicles transporting the container is equipped with a roll | ||
stability support safety system and truck blind spot systems and | ||
has: | ||
(1) a single axle weight of not more than 20,000 | ||
pounds; | ||
(2) a tandem axle weight of not more than 34,000 | ||
pounds; | ||
(3) a tri-axle weight of not more than 51,000 pounds; | ||
and | ||
(4) a gross weight of not more than 95,000 pounds. | ||
(c) The department shall restrict vehicles operating under | ||
a permit issued under this section to routes that are: | ||
(1) located in a county with a population of more than | ||
90,000; | ||
(2) on highways in the state highway system; and | ||
(3) not more than five miles from the border between | ||
this state and Arkansas. | ||
(d) A sealed ocean cargo shipping container being moved | ||
under a permit issued under this section must be continuously | ||
sealed from the point of origin to the point of destination with a | ||
seal that is required by: | ||
(1) the United States Customs and Border Protection; | ||
(2) the United States Food and Drug Administration; or | ||
(3) federal law or regulation. | ||
(e) A permit issued under this section does not authorize | ||
the operation of a vehicle combination described by Subsection (b) | ||
on: | ||
(1) load-restricted roads or bridges, including a road | ||
or bridge for which a maximum weight and load limit has been | ||
established and posted by the Texas Department of Transportation | ||
under Section 621.102; or | ||
(2) routes for which the Texas Department of | ||
Transportation has not authorized the operation of a vehicle | ||
combination described by Subsection (b). | ||
(f) A permit issued under this subchapter does not authorize | ||
the transportation of a material designated as of January 1, 2017, | ||
as a hazardous material by the United States secretary of | ||
transportation under 49 U.S.C. Section 5103(a). | ||
(g) An applicant for a permit under this section must | ||
designate each Texas Department of Transportation district in which | ||
the permit will be used. | ||
(h) The department shall initially set the fee for a permit | ||
issued under this section in an amount not to exceed $2,000. | ||
Beginning in 2022, on September 1 of each even-numbered year the | ||
department shall set the fee for a permit issued under this section | ||
in an amount based on a reasonable estimate of the costs associated | ||
with the operation of vehicles issued a permit under this section | ||
over routes described by Subsection (c), including any increase in | ||
the costs necessary to maintain or repair those highways. The | ||
estimate shall be based on the results of the study conducted under | ||
Subsection (l). | ||
(i) Of the fee collected under this section for a permit: | ||
(1) 85 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the | ||
state highway fund; | ||
(2) 10 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the | ||
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund; and | ||
(3) 5 percent shall be deposited to the general | ||
revenue fund. | ||
(j) A fee deposited under Subsection (i)(1) may only be used | ||
for transportation projects in the Texas Department of | ||
Transportation district designated in the permit application for | ||
which the fee was assessed. A fee deposited under Subsection (i)(3) | ||
may only be used to offset the cost of the study conducted under | ||
Subsection (l). | ||
(k) The department may suspend a permit issued under this | ||
section if the department receives notice from the Federal Highway | ||
Administration that the operation of a vehicle under a permit | ||
authorized by this section would result in the loss of federal | ||
highway funding. | ||
(l) Beginning in 2022, not later than September 1 of each | ||
even-numbered year, the Texas Department of Transportation shall | ||
conduct a study concerning vehicles operating under a permit issued | ||
under this section and publish the results of the study. In | ||
conducting the study, the Texas Department of Transportation shall | ||
collect and examine the following information: | ||
(1) the weight and configuration of vehicles operating | ||
under a permit under this section that are involved in a motor | ||
vehicle accident; | ||
(2) the types of vehicles operating under a permit | ||
issued under this section; | ||
(3) traffic volumes and variations of vehicles | ||
operating under a permit issued under this section; | ||
(4) weigh-in-motion data for highways located in and | ||
around the area described by Subsection (c); | ||
(5) impacts to state and local bridges, including | ||
long-term bridge performance, for bridges located in and around the | ||
area described by Subsection (c); and | ||
(6) impacts to state and local roads, including | ||
changes in pavement design standards, construction specification | ||
details, maintenance frequency and types, and properties of | ||
pavement and underlying soils resulting from or necessitated by | ||
vehicles operating under a permit issued under this section. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |