HBA-NRS H.B. 2203 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2203 By: Gutierrez Transportation 3/20/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Continued growth of our state population is increasing traffic congestion and the dangers inherent to bicyclists and pedestrians when traffic flow increases in our communities. Neighborhoods and existing road systems developed for smaller populations face increasing pressures from a general increase in traffic. Alternative transportation options often are limited or lack proper safeguards to protect a bicyclist or pedestrian. Eleven-year-old Matthew Brown died in a accident involving a motor vehicle while on his bicycle two blocks from his house in Plano, Texas. Many cycling crashes could be avoided with increased education, engineering, and enforcement. House Bill 2203 creates the Matthew Brown Act to establish the Texas parks and wildlife trails account to be used to construct multiple use trails and bicycle facilities. The bill also establishes the Safe Routes to School Program and clarifies the law with respect to electric bicycles. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Department of Transportation in SECTION 5 (Section 201.614, Transportation Code) and to the Department of Public Safety in SECTION 13 (Section 551.106, Transportation Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2203 amends the Parks and Wildlife Code to create the Matthew Brown Act to establish the Texas parks and wildlife trails account (trails account). The bill authorizes money in the trails account to be appropriated only for projects approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to construct multiple use trails and bicycle facilities (Sec. 11.046). The bill requires the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to construct multiple use trails and facilities with the money in the trails account (Sec. 13.023). The bill amends the Tax Code to require one-half of the proceeds from the collection of limited sales, excise, and use taxes imposed on the sale of bicycles and nonmotorized modes of transportation to be credited to the trails account and one-half of the proceeds from the collection of such taxes to be credited to the bicycle and pedestrian facilities account. The bill requires the comptroller of public accounts to determine the amount to be deposited to the accounts according to available statistical data indicating the estimated or actual total receipts in this state from taxable sales and uses of bicycles and nonmotorized modes of transportation (Sec. 151.801). The bill amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to establish and administer a Safe Routes to School Program (program) to distribute federal grants under the federal Hazard Elimination Program to political subdivisions for projects to improve safety in and around school areas. The bill sets forth provisions relating to projects eligible to receive grants under the program. The bill requires and sets forth criteria TxDOT is required to consider with regard to grant proposals. The bill requires TxDOT to give priority in allocating 10 percent of all money received by TxDOT from the federal government under the Hazard Elimination Program to grants for the program. The bill requires TxDOT to adopt rules to implement the program (Sec. 201.614). The bill establishes the bicycle and pedestrian facilities account and authorizes money in the account to be appropriated only for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities (Sec. 201.615). The bill provides that the owner of an electric bicycle is not required to register the electric bicycle, but a local authority is not prevented, with respect to a highway under its jurisdiction and in the reasonable exercise of the police power, from regulating the operation and requiring registration and licensing of an electric bicycle, including payment of a registration fee (Secs. 502.0075 and 542.202). The bill authorizes the Texas Transportation Commission by resolution or order, or a local authority by ordinance, to prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on certain highways or roadways (Sec. 545.065, Transportation Code). The bill sets forth that the provisions for the rules of the road relating to the operation of a bicycle also apply to an electric bicycle (Sec. 551.002). The bill prohibits the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or a local authority from prohibiting the use of an electric bicycle on a highway that is used primarily by motor vehicles. The bill authorizes DPS or a local authority to prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway used primarily by pedestrians. The bill requires DPS to establish rules for the regulation of electric bicycles (Sec. 551.106). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.