Texas Administrative Code › Title 37 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY › Chapter 4 - COMMERCIAL VEHICLE REGULATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES › Subchapter B - REGULATIONS GOVERNING TRANSPORTATION SAFETY › Section 4.14 - Municipal and County Certification Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Certain peace officers from an authorized
				  municipality or county may be trained and certified to enforce the federal
				  safety regulations provided the municipality or county:
(1) executes a Memorandum of Understanding
				  with the department concerning the working policies and procedures of the
				  inspection program whereby the resources of all agencies will be maximized,
				  duplication of efforts will be minimized, and uniformity in the inspection
				  program will be maintained;
(2)
				  implements a program that ensures only their certified officers are conducting
				  the inspections, utilizing only department approved forms, and following the
				  inspection program guidelines approved by the department;
(3) implements a program that ensures their
				  officers perform the required number of inspections annually and successfully
				  complete the required annual certification training to maintain the officers'
				  certification;
(4) agrees to
				  immediately suspend, from performing commercial vehicle inspection and
				  enforcement activities, authorized in this chapter, any officer that fails to
				  maintain their certification or that fails to perform the inspections following
				  the guidelines approved by the department;
(5) agrees to notify the department within 10
				  days of a change in an officer's certification and provides a list to the
				  department by January 31st of each year of the officers that have been
				  suspended and are no longer certified;
(6) provides all roadside inspection data to
				  the department through electronic systems that are compatible with the
				  department's system within 10 days of the inspection, and forwards paper copies
				  immediately thereafter;
(7) agrees
				  to forward crash reports involving commercial motor vehicles to the Texas
				  Department of Transportation no later than 10 days after the date of the crash
				  investigation;
(8) agrees to
				  investigate and determine whether a correction to the data needs to be made
				  when that data is challenged; to notify the motor carrier and the department in
				  writing of the results of the investigation within 10 days; and then to make
				  any needed corrections and forward the corrected reports to the department
				  immediately;
(9) acknowledges that
				  the department may conduct random in-person observation of inspections
				  conducted in order to ensure that the officers maintain practical proficiency
				  in the commercial vehicle inspection program;
(10) acknowledges that the primary purpose of
				  certification to enforce federal safety regulations is to improve commercial
				  vehicle safety and ensure voluntary compliance with applicable laws and
				  regulations;
(11) acknowledges that
				  certification to enforce federal safety regulations may not be used as a
				  primary method to generate program revenue through enforcement penalties or
				  enhance criminal interdiction activities; and
(12) acknowledges that officers certified to
				  enforce federal safety regulations will not participate in secondary employment
				  activities that present a conflict of interest related to their commercial
				  vehicle enforcement duties.