HBA-NRS H.B. 3597 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3597 By: Capelo Transportation 4/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Venues away from school campuses where students congregate for sporting events or other major attractions may be adjacent to highways with high speed limits. At a recent school sporting event, a student was killed after being hit by a car while running across traffic. Current law does not allow the governing body of a municipality to alter speed limits for highways adjacent to venues holding sporting events or other major attractions. House Bill 3597 allows the governing body of a municipality to temporarily lower speed limits on highways adjacent to venues currently holding sporting events or other major attractions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3597 amends the Transportation Code to provide that the governing body of a municipality has the authority to temporarily lower, using speed zone limit flashers, the prima facie speed limits on an officially designated or marked highway of the state highway system in the municipality for sporting events or other major attractions. The bill prohibits the governing body of a municipality from modifying the provision prohibiting an operator from driving at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the existing circumstances or establishing a speed limit of more than 60 miles per hour. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.