H.B. No. 2861
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to an optional procedure for the issuance of a permit by
  the City of Laredo for the movement of oversize or overweight
  vehicles carrying cargo in Webb County; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter T to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER T.  WEBB COUNTY PERMITS
         Sec. 623.381.  OPTIONAL PROCEDURE. This subchapter provides
  an optional procedure for the issuance of a permit by the City of
  Laredo for the movement of oversize or overweight vehicles carrying
  cargo on certain roadways located in Webb County.
         Sec. 623.382.  ISSUANCE OF PERMITS. (a)  The commission may
  authorize the City of Laredo to issue permits for the movement of
  oversize or overweight vehicles carrying cargo in Webb County on
  the following roadways:
               (1)  Farm-to-Market Road 1472 between its intersection
  with State Highway Loop 20 and the northernmost of its
  intersections with World Trade Center Loop;
               (2)  Farm-to-Market Road 1472 between the northernmost
  of its intersections with World Trade Center Loop and its
  intersection with Hachar Loop, if the Hachar Loop project in Webb
  County is constructed;
               (3)  Hachar Loop between its intersection with
  Farm-to-Market Road 1472 and its intersection with Interstate
  Highway 35, if the Hachar Loop project in Webb County is
  constructed; and
               (4)  Beltway Parkway between its intersection with
  Hachar Loop and its intersection with Interstate Highway 35, if the
  Hachar Loop project in Webb County is constructed.
         (b)  In addition to the roadways described by Subsection (a),
  the City of Laredo may designate and issue permits for the movement
  of oversize or overweight vehicles carrying cargo in Webb County on
  roadways under the city's jurisdiction and control.
         Sec. 623.383.  SURETY BOND. The commission may require the
  City of Laredo to execute, at its own expense, a surety bond payable
  to the Texas Department of Transportation in an amount of not less
  than $500,000 for costs of maintenance for the roadways described
  by Section 623.382(a).
         Sec. 623.384.  PERMIT FEES. (a) The City of Laredo may
  collect a fee for permits issued under this subchapter. Except as
  otherwise provided by this subsection, the maximum amount of the
  fee may not exceed $200 per trip. On September 1 of each year, the
  city may adjust the maximum fee amount as necessary to reflect the
  percentage change during the preceding year in the Consumer Price
  Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average, published
  monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics or its
  successor in function.
         (b)  Fees collected under Subsection (a) may be used only for
  the operation and maintenance of the roadways described by or
  designated under Section 623.382 and for the City of
  Laredo's administrative costs, which may not exceed 15 percent of
  the fees collected.
         (c)  The distribution of the fees collected under Subsection
  (a) less the City of Laredo's administrative costs must be
  distributed between the state and the city based on lane mile
  calculations between on and off system roadways subject to this
  subchapter. Lane mile calculations must be adjusted on a biannual
  basis.
         (d)  The City of Laredo shall send the state's portion of the
  fees collected under Subsection (a) to the comptroller for deposit
  to the credit of the state highway fund. Fees deposited in the
  state highway fund under this section are exempt from the
  application of Section 403.095, Government Code.
         Sec. 623.385.  PERMIT REQUIREMENTS. (a) A permit issued
  under this subchapter must include:
               (1)  the name of the applicant;
               (2)  the date of issuance;
               (3)  the signature of the designated agent for the City
  of Laredo;
               (4)  a statement of the kind of cargo being
  transported, the maximum weight and dimensions of the equipment,
  and the kind and weight of each commodity to be transported;
               (5)  a statement:
                     (A)  that the gross weight of the vehicle for
  which a permit is issued may not exceed 125,000 pounds; and
                     (B)  of any other condition on which the permit is
  issued;
               (6)  a statement that the cargo may be transported in
  Webb County only over the roadways described by or designated under
  Section 623.382;
               (7)  a statement that the permit does not authorize the
  transportation of the cargo on an interstate highway; and
               (8)  the location where the cargo was loaded.
         (b)  The City of Laredo shall report to the department all
  permits issued under this subchapter.
         Sec. 623.386.  TIME OF MOVEMENT. A permit issued under this
  subchapter must specify the time during which movement authorized
  by the permit is allowed.
         Sec. 623.387.  SPEED LIMIT. Movement authorized by a permit
  issued under this subchapter may not exceed the posted speed limit
  or 55 miles per hour, whichever is less. A violation of this
  provision constitutes a moving violation.
         Sec. 623.388.  ENFORCEMENT. The Department of Public Safety
  has authority to enforce this subchapter.
         Sec. 623.389.  PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN. The Texas
  Department of Transportation shall create a pavement management
  plan for the roadways described by Section 623.382(a).
         Sec. 623.390.  RULES. The commission may adopt rules
  necessary to implement this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  The City of Laredo may adjust the maximum fee
  amount as provided by Section 623.384, Transportation Code, as
  added by this Act, beginning September 1, 2016.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2861 was passed by the House on May 5,
  2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 1, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2861 on May 27, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 3,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2861 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 25, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays
  1.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor