83R11248 JRR-F
 
  By: Fletcher H.B. No. 3094
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to imposing a law enforcement fee for certain offenses and
  violations related to vehicle weight limits.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 621.506, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  In addition to a fine assessed under Subsection (b), a
  court shall assess a law enforcement fee in the amount of $500
  against a person who commits an offense under this section. A fee
  collected under this subsection shall be remitted to the
  comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund and may be
  appropriated only for law enforcement purposes.
         SECTION 2.  Section 621.508, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 621.508.  AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR OPERATING VEHICLE
  OVER MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT OR AXLE WEIGHT. It is an
  affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an action under
  Subchapter F for, the offense of operating a vehicle with:
               (1)  a gross weight heavier than the gross weight
  authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle:
                     (A)  had a gross weight that was not heavier than
  the gross weight authorized by law plus five percent;
                     (B)  was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood
  chips, or cotton, livestock, or other agricultural products that
  are:
                           (i)  in their natural state; and
                           (ii)  being transported from the place of
  production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and
                     (C)  was not being operated on a portion of the
  national system of interstate and defense highways; or
               (2)  a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier
  than the axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the
  offense the vehicle:
                     (A) [(1)]  had a single axle weight or tandem axle
  weight that was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law
  plus five [12] percent;
                     (B) [(2)]  was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood
  chips, or cotton, livestock, or other agricultural products that
  are:
                           (i) [(A)]  in their natural state; and
                           (ii) [(B)]  being transported from the place
  of production to the place of first marketing or first processing;
  and
                     (C) [(3)]  was not being operated on a portion of
  the national system of interstate and defense highways.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter G, Chapter 621, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 621.510 to read as follows:
         Sec. 621.510.  LAW ENFORCEMENT FEE. (a) The department
  shall assess a law enforcement fee against a person convicted of an
  offense under Section 621.502(a)(2) or 621.506(a)(1) in the amount
  of $1 per each pound the vehicle or combination of vehicles is
  heavier than, as appropriate:
               (1)  the single axle weight or tandem axle weight
  authorized by law plus five percent; or
               (2)  the gross weight authorized by law plus five
  percent.
         (b)  A fee collected under this section shall be remitted to
  the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. Fifty
  percent of the fees deposited under this section must be
  appropriated for law enforcement purposes, and the remainder must
  be appropriated to the department for the purposes of road
  maintenance.
         SECTION 4.  Section 623.272, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  If the department imposes an administrative penalty on a
  shipper under this section, the department shall assess, in
  addition to the penalty, a law enforcement fee in the amount of
  $5,000 against the shipper. A fee collected under this subsection
  shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general
  revenue fund and may be appropriated only for law enforcement
  purposes.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 621.503(b) and (c), Transportation
  Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 6.  (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
  only to a violation that occurs or an offense committed on or after
  the effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs or an
  offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law in effect on the date the violation occurred or the
  offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a) of this section, a
  violation occurred or an offense was committed before the effective
  date of this Act if any element of the violation or offense occurred
  before that date.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.