H.B. No. 1353
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to speed limits.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 545.352(b), Transportation Code, as
  amended by Chapters 663 (H.B. 385), 739 (H.B. 1075), and 1346 (H.B.
  676), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, is
  reenacted and amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Unless a special hazard exists that requires a slower
  speed for compliance with Section 545.351(b), the following speeds
  are lawful:
               (1)  30 miles per hour in an urban district on a street
  other than an alley and 15 miles per hour in an alley;
               (2)  except as provided by Subdivision (4), 70 miles
  per hour [in daytime and 65 miles per hour in nighttime if the
  vehicle is a passenger car, motorcycle, passenger car or light
  truck towing a trailer bearing a vessel, as defined by Section
  31.003, Parks and Wildlife Code, that is less than 26 feet in
  length, passenger car or light truck towing a trailer or
  semitrailer used primarily to transport a motorcycle, or passenger
  car or light truck towing a trailer or semitrailer designed and used
  primarily to transport dogs or livestock,] on a highway numbered by
  this state or the United States outside an urban district,
  including a farm-to-market or ranch-to-market road;
               (3)  except as provided by Subdivision (4), 60 miles
  per hour [in daytime and 55 miles per hour in nighttime if the
  vehicle is a passenger car or motorcycle] on a highway that is
  outside an urban district and not a highway numbered by this state
  or the United States;
               (4)  [60 miles per hour outside an urban district if a
  speed limit for the vehicle is not otherwise specified by this
  section; or
               [(5)]  outside an urban district:
                     (A)  60 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school
  bus that has passed a commercial motor vehicle inspection under
  Section 548.201 and is on a highway numbered by the United States or
  this state, including a farm-to-market road; or
                     (B)  50 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school
  bus that:
                           (i)  has not passed a commercial motor
  vehicle inspection under Section 548.201; or
                           (ii)  is traveling on a highway not numbered
  by the United States or this state; [or
                     [(C)     60 miles per hour in daytime and 55 miles per
  hour in nighttime if the vehicle is a truck, other than a light
  truck, or if the vehicle is a truck tractor, trailer, or
  semitrailer, or a vehicle towing a trailer other than a trailer
  described by Subdivision (2), semitrailer, another motor vehicle or
  towable recreational vehicle;]
               (5)  on a beach, 15 miles per hour; or
               (6)  on a county road adjacent to a public beach, 15
  miles per hour, if declared by the commissioners court of the
  county.
         SECTION 2.  Section 545.352, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  An entity that establishes or alters a speed limit under
  this subchapter shall establish the same speed limit for daytime
  and nighttime.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 545.353(d), (h), and (h-1),
  Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (h-1) [(h)], the
  commission may not:
               (1)  modify the rules established by Section
  545.351(b);
               (2)  establish a speed limit of more than 75 [70] miles
  per hour; or
               (3)  increase the speed limit for a vehicle described
  by Section 545.352(b)(4) [545.352(b)(5)].
         (h)  Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission may
  establish a speed limit of 75 miles per hour [in daytime] on a part
  of the highway system if[:
               [(1)]  the commission determines that 75 miles per hour
  [in daytime] is a reasonable and safe speed for that part of the
  highway system[; and
               [(2)     that part of the highway is located in a county
  with a population density of less than 15 persons per square mile].
         (h-1)  Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission
  may establish a speed limit of 80 miles per hour [in daytime] on a
  part of Interstate Highway 10 or Interstate Highway 20 in Crockett,
  Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Kimble, Pecos, Reeves,
  Sutton, or Ward County if the commission determines that 80 miles
  per hour [in daytime] is a reasonable and safe speed for that part
  of the highway.
         SECTION 4.  Section 545.354(e), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (e)  The authority may not:
               (1)  alter the general rule established by Section
  545.351(a); or
               (2)  establish a speed limit of more than 75 [70] miles
  per hour.
         SECTION 5.  Section 545.355(e), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (e)  The commissioners court of a county with a population of
  more than 2.8 million may establish from the results of an
  engineering and traffic investigation a speed limit of not more
  than 75 [70] miles per hour on any part of a highway of that county
  that is a limited-access or controlled-access highway, regardless
  of the location of the part of the highway.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 545.356(a) and (b), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or
  part of a highway in the municipality, including a highway of the
  state highway system, has the same authority to alter by ordinance
  prima facie speed limits from the results of an engineering and
  traffic investigation as the Texas Transportation Commission on an
  officially designated or marked highway of the state highway
  system. The governing body of a municipality may not modify the
  rule established by Section 545.351(a) or establish a speed limit
  of more than 75 [60] miles per hour.
         (b)  The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or
  part of a highway in the municipality, including a highway of the
  state highway system, has the same authority to alter prima facie
  speed limits from the results of an engineering and traffic
  investigation as the commission for an officially designated or
  marked highway of the state highway system, when the highway or part
  of the highway is under repair, construction, or maintenance. A
  municipality may not modify the rule established by Section
  545.351(a) or establish a speed limit of more than 75 [60] miles per
  hour.
         SECTION 7.  Section 545.358, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 545.358.  AUTHORITY OF COMMANDING OFFICER OF UNITED
  STATES MILITARY RESERVATION TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS. The commanding
  officer of a United States military reservation, for a highway or
  part of a highway in the military reservation, including a highway
  of the state highway system, has the same authority by order to
  alter prima facie speed limits from the results of an engineering
  and traffic investigation as the Texas Transportation Commission
  for an officially designated or marked highway of the state highway
  system. A commanding officer may not modify the rule established by
  Section 545.351(a) or establish a speed limit of more than 75 [60]
  miles per hour.
         SECTION 8.  Section 545.362(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Subject to Subsection (c), the Texas Transportation
  Commission may enter an order establishing prima facie speed limits
  of not more than 75 [70] miles per hour applicable to all highways,
  including a turnpike under the authority of the Texas Turnpike
  Authority or a highway under the control of a municipality or
  county. An order entered under this section does not have the
  effect of increasing a speed limit on any highway.
         SECTION 9.  Section 545.353(i), Transportation Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 10.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Department of Transportation shall conceal
  or remove speed limit signs that do not comply with Section 545.352,
  Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, and erect appropriate
  signs.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1353 was passed by the House on April
  18, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 2, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1353 was passed by the Senate on May
  23, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor