HBA-NRS S.B. 217 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 217 By: Fraser Transportation 3/22/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, privately owned roads within a subdivision located in a municipality are usually not subject to the traffic laws of that municipality. Senate Bill 217 allows a governing body of a municipality to extend traffic rules, on request, to privately owned roads located within the municipality, and allows the municipality to pass the cost of the extension and enforcement of the traffic rules on to the owners of property within the subdivision. 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 Senate Bill 217 amends the Transportation Code to authorize the governing body of a municipality with a population of 300 or more, on petition of 25 percent of the property owners residing in a subdivision or on the request of the governing body of the entity that maintains the roads, to extend by ordinance any or all traffic rules that apply to a road owned by the municipality, or by the county in which the municipality is located, to the roads in the subdivision which are privately owned or maintained so that the roads of the subdivision are under the same traffic rules. The bill authorizes the governing body of the municipality to require owners of property in the subdivision to pay all or part of the cost of extending and enforcing the traffic rules in the subdivision and requires the governing body of the municipality to consult with the appropriate law enforcement entity to determine the cost of enforcing such rules. On issuance of an order, the bill establishes that the private roads in the subdivision are considered to be public highways or streets for purposes of the application and enforcement of the specified traffic rules. The bill authorizes the governing body of the municipality to place traffic control devices on property abutting the private roads, under certain conditions. A petition must specify the traffic rules that are sought to be extended. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.