TITLE: Relating to the restarting of a vehicle's battery while the vehicle is being transported on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry; authorizing a fee.

SUMMARY: Relating to the restarting of a vehicle's battery while the vehicle is being transported on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry; authorizing a fee.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the restarting of a vehicle's battery while the vehicle is being transported on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry; authorizing a fee. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 342, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 342.005 to read as follows: Sec. 342.005. RESTARTING VEHICLE BATTERY ON GALVESTON-PORT BOLIVAR FERRY. (a) The operator of a vehicle being transported on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry operated by the department may attempt to restart the vehicle's battery only if a ferry employee confirms the absence of hazardous gas. At the request of the vehicle operator, a ferry employee who has completed the training described by Subsection (b) shall check for hazardous gas. (b) The department shall: (1) provide training to ferry employees regarding the safe use of equipment to detect hazardous gas; and (2) provide and maintain in good operating condition equipment for detecting hazardous gas. (c) The department may charge a fee for providing the service described by Subsection (a) in an amount set by the department that is reasonable and necessary to cover the costs of administering this section. (d) Nothing in this section requires a ferry employee to attempt to restart the battery of a vehicle being transported on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry operated by the department. SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2025, the Texas Department of Transportation shall adopt rules necessary to administer Section 342.005, Transportation Code, as added by this Act. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.