Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of texas

(4) the construction or improvement of facilities necessary or useful in providing port security;

(5) the acquisition of container cranes or other mechanized equipment used in the movement of cargo or passengers in international commerce;

(6) [(5)] the acquisition of land to be used for port purposes;

(7) [(6)] the acquisition, improvement, enlargement, or extension of existing port facilities; and

(8) [(7)] environmental protection projects that:

(A) are required as a condition of a state, federal, or local environmental permit or other form of [state] approval;

(B) are necessary for the acquisition of spoil disposal sites and improvements to existing and future spoil sites; or

(C) [that] result from the undertaking of eligible projects.

(d) The department, in consultation with the committee, shall review the list of projects recommended by the committee to evaluate the economic benefit of each project. The commission [department], after receiving recommendations from [in consultation with] the committee and from the department, shall approve projects or studies for funding based on its review.

SECTION 18.04. Section 55.004, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 55.004. AUDIT. The department may subject a project that receives money under this chapter to a final audit. [The department may adopt rules and perform other acts necessary or convenient to ensure that the final audits are conducted and that any deficiency or questioned costs noted by the audit are resolved.]

SECTION 18.05. Section 55.006, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 55.006. [TEXAS] PORT AUTHORITY [TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT] ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The committee [Texas Port Transportation and Economic Development Advisory Committee] consists of seven members appointed by the commission. The members shall be appointed as follows:

(1) one member from the Port of Houston Authority [a member of the governing body of each of the ports that are members of the Texas Ports Association or their designees]; [and]

(2) three members who represent ports on the upper Texas coast; and [as a nonvoting member, the executive director or the designee of the department]

(3) three members who represent ports on the lower Texas coast.

(b) A committee member serves at the pleasure of the commission [The committee shall develop bylaws under which it operates. The bylaws must specify the procedure by which the presiding officer of the committee is elected. A majority of voting members constitutes a quorum sufficient to conduct meetings and business of the committee. A vote of the majority of the voting members present is sufficient for any action of the committee, unless the bylaws of the committee require a greater vote for a particular action].

(c) [The committee shall meet at the call of its presiding officer, at the request of a majority of its membership, or at times prescribed in its bylaws.] The committee must meet at least semiannually.

(d) A member is not entitled to compensation for service on the committee but is entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses the member incurs in performing committee duties.

(e) Section [Sections] 2110.002 [and 2110.008], Government Code, does [do] not apply to the committee.

SECTION 18.06. Section 55.007, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 55.007. DUTIES OF COMMITTEE. The committee shall:

(1) prepare a port mission plan;

(2) review each project eligible to be funded under this chapter and make recommendations for approval or disapproval to the department;

(3) maintain trade data information that will assist ports in this state and international trade;

(4) annually prepare a list of projects that have been recommended by the committee, including:

(A) the recommended funding level for each project; and

(B) if staged implementation of the project is appropriate, the funding requirements for each stage; and

(5) advise the commission and the department on matters relating to port authorities [adopt rules for evaluating projects that may be funded under this chapter, providing criteria for the evaluation of the economic benefit of the project, measured by the potential for the proposed project to increase:

[(A) cargo flow;

[(B) cruise passenger movement;

[(C) international commerce;

[(D) port revenues; and

[(E) the number of jobs for the port's local community].

SECTION 18.07. Section 55.008, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 55.008. CAPITAL PROGRAM. (a) The committee shall prepare a two‑year port capital program defining the goals and objectives of the committee concerning the development of port facilities and an intermodal transportation system. The port capital program must include projects or studies submitted to the committee by any [each] port [that is a member of the committee] and recommendations for:

(1) the construction of transportation facilities connecting any port to another transportation mode; and

(2) the efficient, cost‑effective development of transportation facilities or port facilities for the purpose of:

(A) enhancing international trade;

(B) enhancing security;

(C) promoting cargo flow;

(D) [(C)] increasing cruise passenger movements;

(E) [(D)] increasing port revenues; and

(F) [(E)] providing economic benefits to the state.

(b) The committee shall update the port capital program annually and shall submit the capital program not later than February 1 of each year to:

(1) the governor;

(2) the lieutenant governor;

(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and

(4) the commission [department].

SECTION 18.08. Chapter 55, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 55.009 to read as follows:

SECTION 18.09. Chapter 53, Transportation Code, is repealed.

SECTION 18.10. This article takes effect immediately if this Act receives a vote of two‑thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this article takes effect September 1, 2003.

ARTICLE 19. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SECTION 19.01. Section 201.601, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:

(c) The plan must include a component that is not financially constrained and identifies transportation improvements designed to relieve congestion. In developing this component of the plan, the department shall seek opinions and assistance from officials who have local responsibility for modes of transportation listed in Subsection (a).

(d) The plan shall include a component, published annually, that describes the evaluation of transportation improvements based on performance measures, such as indices measuring delay reductions or travel time improvements. The department shall consider the performance measures in selecting transportation improvements.

SECTION 19.02. Section 222.103(h), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(h) Money granted by the department each [federal] fiscal year under this section may not exceed $800 million [30 percent of the obligation authority under the federal‑aid highway program that is distributed to this state in that year]. This limitation does not apply to money required to be repaid.

SECTION 19.03. Subchapter E, Chapter 548, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 548.257 to read as follows:

SECTION 19.04. Section 544.007, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:

SECTION 19.05. Section 545.151(a), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) An operator approaching an intersection:

(1) shall stop, yield, and grant immediate use of the intersection:

(2) after stopping, may proceed when the intersection can be safely entered without interference or collision with traffic using a different street or roadway.

SECTION 19.06. (a) Section 545.066(c), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000, except that the offense is:

(b) The change in law made by Section 545.066(c), Transportation Code, as amended by this section, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.

(c) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 19.07. Chapter 551, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:

SECTION 19.08. (a) Section 681.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (7) to read as follows:

(b) Section 681.011, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a)‑(c), (e), and (m) to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if:

(1) the person stands [parks] a vehicle on which are displayed license plates issued under Section 502.253 or 502.254 or a disabled parking placard in a parking space or area designated specifically for persons with disabilities by:

(A) a political subdivision; or

(B) a person who owns or controls private property used for parking as to which a political subdivision has provided for the application of this section under Subsection (f); and

(2) the standing [parking] of the vehicle in that parking space or area is not authorized by Section 681.006, 681.007, or 681.008.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) stands [parks] a vehicle on which license plates issued under Section 502.253 or 502.254 are not displayed and a disabled parking placard is not displayed in a parking space or area designated specifically for individuals with disabilities by:

(A) a political subdivision; or

(B) a person who owns or controls private property used for parking as to which a political subdivision has provided for the application of this section under this Subsection (f); or

(2) stands [parks] a vehicle displaying a white on red shield disabled parking placard or license plates issued under Section 502.253 in a space designated under Section 681.009(e) for the exclusive use of vehicles displaying a white on blue shield disabled parking placard.

(c) A person commits an offense if the person stands [parks] a vehicle so that the vehicle blocks an architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities, including an access aisle or curb ramp.

(e) In a prosecution under this section, it is presumed that the registered owner of the motor vehicle is the person who left [parked] the vehicle standing at the time and place the offense occurred.

(m) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) stands [parks] a vehicle on which are displayed license plates issued under Section 502.253 or a disabled parking placard in a parking space or area for which this chapter creates an exemption from payment of a fee or penalty imposed by a governmental unit;

(2) does not have a disability;

(3) is not transporting a person with disability; and

(4) does not pay any applicable fee related to standing [parking] in the space or area imposed by a governmental unit or exceeds a limitation on the length of time for standing [parking] in the space or area.

(c) The change in law made by this section applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.

(d) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 19.09. Section 451.362, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter and except as provided by Subsection (c), the board, by order or resolution, may issue bonds that are secured by revenue or taxes of the authority if the bonds:

(1) have a term of not more than 12 months; and

(2) are payable only from revenue or taxes received on or after the date of their issuance and before the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the bonds are issued.

(c) In an authority in which the principal municipality has a population of 1.5 million or more, bonds may have a term of not more than five years. The bonds are payable only from revenue on taxes received on or after the date of their issuance.

[ARTICLE 19A. RESERVED]

ARTICLE 19B. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

SECTION 19B.01. Chapter 601, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subchapter N to read as follows:

SECTION 19B.02. Section 502.104, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 502.104. DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN SPECIAL FEES. Each Monday a county assessor‑collector shall send to the department an amount equal to collections for the preceding week for:

(1) each transfer fee collected under Section 502.175; and

(2) each fee collected under Section 502.169(b), 502.1715, or 502.279.

SECTION 19B.03. Subchapter D, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 502.1715 to read as follows:

ARTICLE 20. GENERAL PROVISIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 20.01. Money required to be deposited to a specific fund or account by a change in law made by this Act is exempt from Section 403.095, Government Code.

SECTION 20.02. (a) The comptroller shall establish the Texas mobility fund debt service account as a dedicated account within the general revenue fund.

(b) Notwithstanding Sections 780.002(a) and (b), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, of the money allocated to the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund by Section 780.002(a), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, other than money that may only be appropriated to the Department of Public Safety, in fiscal year 2004 the comptroller shall deposit that money to the credit of the Texas mobility fund debt service account, which is subject to the provisions of Subsection (d).

(c) Notwithstanding Section 542.4031(g)(1), Transportation Code, as added by this Act, of the money allocated to the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund in Section 542.4031(g)(1), Transportation Code, in fiscal year 2004 the comptroller shall deposit that money to the credit of the Texas mobility fund debt service account, which is subject to the provisions of Subsection (d).

(d) Funds deposited to the Texas mobility fund debt service account pursuant to Subsections (b) and (c) may be transferred to the Texas mobility fund upon certification by the Texas Transportation Commission to the comptroller that a payment is due under an obligation pursuant to Section 49‑k, Article 3, Texas Constitution. Funds in the Texas mobility fund debt service account are not appropriated in the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2004.

(e) Notwithstanding Sections 521.058, 521.313(c), 521.3466(e), 521.427, 522.029(i), 524.051(c), 548.508, 644.153(i), and 724.046(c), Transportation Code, as added by this Act, to the extent that those sections allocate funds to the Texas mobility fund, in fiscal year 2004 the comptroller shall deposit those funds to the credit of the general revenue fund instead of to the credit of the Texas mobility fund.

SECTION 20.03. Any new court cost created by this Act takes effect September 1, 2003. Section 51.607, Government Code, as added by Senate Bill 325, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, does not apply to court costs imposed under this Act.

SECTION 20.04. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3588 was passed by the House on May 10, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 3, 2 present, not voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to H.B. No. 3588 on May 30, 2003, and requested the appointment of a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 3588 on June 1, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not voting; and that the House adopted S.C.R. No. 65 authorizing certain corrections in H.B. No. 3588 on June 2, 2003, by a non‑record vote.
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Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3588 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 3588 on June 1, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that the Senate adopted S.C.R. No. 65 authorizing certain corrections in H.B. No. 3588 on June 1, 2003.
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Secretary of the Senate

Date