Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

________________________ TRANSPORTATION
77 th Texas Legislature
Authorizes the Texas Turnpike Authority to enter into four toll projects before March 1, 2004.
Authorizes the commission to create a regional mobility authority (authority) for the purposes of
constructing, maintaining, and operating a turnpike project. Sets out membership and requirements of the
governing body.
Requires the authority, if it has surplus revenue from turnpike projects, to reduce tolls, spend the surplus on
certain transportation projects in the region, or deposit the surplus in the Texas Mobility Fund.
Barring Children from Riding in the Open Bed of a Vehicle or Trailer - S.B. 399
by Senator Duncan
House Sponsor: Representative Yvonne Davis
Amends current law making it an offense to operate an open-bed truck or pull an open flatbed trailer at a
speed of more than 35 miles per hour with a child younger than 12 years of age occupying the bed by:
• raising the age to under 18 years of age; and
• eliminating the 35 miles per hour provision.
Makes it a defense to prosecution that the person was operating the vehicle:
• to transport farm workers from one field to another field on certain rural roads;
• on a beach;
• that is the only vehicle owned or operated by the members of a household, as defined under the
Family Code; or
• in a hayride permitted by the governing body or a law enforcement agency of each county or
municipality in which the hayride will occur.
Provides that compliance or noncompliance is not admissible evidence in a civil trial.
Ride the Rails - S.B. 406
by Senator Cain, et al.
House Sponsor: Representative Hawley
There is no law providing the state with a mechanism for preserving abandoned railroads and rail rights-ofway.
This loss of an integral part of the distribution and overall transportation network in many small towns
and rural areas affects certain industries adversely, leaving them to find alternate means to transport
products.
Authorizes the TxDOT to preserve transportation infrastructure and services by preserving rail facilities,
acquiring rail lines and other rail facilities, and leasing or selling those facilities to an appropriate entity.
Senate Research Center 304