TITLE: Relating to weight limitations for certain vehicles carrying livestock.

SUMMARY: Relating to weight limitations for certain vehicles carrying livestock.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to weight limitations for certain vehicles carrying livestock. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 621.508, Transportation Code, is amended by amending subsection (a) and adding subsection (c) to read as follows: (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an action under Subchapter Ffor, the offense of operating a vehicle with a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle: (1) had a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law plus 12 percent; (2) was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood chips, or cotton, [livestock] or other agricultural products that are: (A) in their natural state; and (B) being transported from the place of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and (3) was not being operated on a portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways. (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an action under Subchapter Ffor, the offense of operating a vehicle with a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle: (1) was loaded with livestock products that are: (A) in their natural state; and (B) being transported from the place of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and (2) was not being operated on a portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.