A financially responsible party must file a notification document before operating permitted vehicles on certain roads and agree to reimburse road damage; counties and TxDOT may inspect, and there is an exception for certain timber-related transport.
Sec. 623.323. NOTIFICATION. (a) For purposes of this section, "financially responsible party" means the owner of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, the party operating the vehicle or combination of vehicles, or a person that hires, leases, rents, or subcontracts the vehicle or combination of vehicles for use on a road maintained by a county or a state highway. (b) Before a vehicle or combination of vehicles for which a permit is issued under this subchapter may be operated on a road maintained by a county or a state highway, the financially responsible party shall execute a notification document and agree to reimburse the county or the state, as applicable, for damage to a road or highway sustained as a consequence of the transportation authorized by the permit. At a minimum, the notification document must include: (1) the name and address of the financially responsible party; (2) a description of each permit issued for the vehicle or combination of vehicles; (3) a description of the method of compliance by the financially responsible party with Section 601.051, 623.012, 643.101, or 643.102; (4) the address or location of the geographic area in which the financially responsible party wishes to operate a vehicle or combination of vehicles and a designation of the specific route of travel anticipated by the financially responsible party, including the name or number of each road maintained by a county or state highway; (5) a calendar or schedule of duration that includes the days and hours of operation during which the financially responsible party reasonably anticipates using the county road or state highway identified in Subdivision (4); and (6) a list of each vehicle or combination of vehicles by license plate number or other registration information, and a description of the means by which financial responsibility is established for each vehicle or combination of vehicles if each vehicle or combination of vehicles is not covered by a single insurance policy, surety bond, deposit, or other means of financial assurance. (c) A financially responsible party shall electronically file the notification document described by Subsection (b) with the department under rules adopted by the department not later than the second business day before the first business day listed by the financially responsible party under Subsection (b)(5). The department shall immediately send an electronic copy of the notification document to each county identified in the notification document and the Texas Department of Transportation and an electronic receipt for the notification document to the financially responsible party. Not later than the first business day listed by the financially responsible party under Subsection (b)(5), a county or the Texas Department of Transportation may inspect a road or highway identified in the notification document. If an inspection is conducted under this subsection, a county or the Texas Department of Transportation shall: (1) document the condition of the roads or highways and take photographs of the roads or highways as necessary to establish a baseline for any subsequent assessment of damage sustained by the financially responsible party's use of the roads or highways; and (2) provide a copy of the documentation to the financially responsible party. (d) If an inspection has been conducted under Subsection (c), a county or the Texas Department of Transportation, as applicable, shall, not later than the fifth business day after the expiration of the calendar or schedule of duration described by Subsection (b)(5): (1) conduct an inspection described by Subsection (c)(1) to determine any damage sustained by the financially responsible party's use of the roads or highways; and (2) provide a copy of the inspection documentation to the financially responsible party. (e) The state or a county required to be notified under this section may assert a claim against any security posted under Section 623.012 or insurance filed under Section 643.103 for damage to a road or highway sustained as a consequence of the transportation authorized by the permit. (f) This section does not apply to a vehicle or combination of vehicles that are being used to transport unrefined timber, wood chips, or woody biomass or equipment used to load timber on a vehicle from: (1) a storage yard to the place of first processing; or (2) outside this state to a place of first processing in this state. Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1135 (H.B. 2741), Sec. 119, eff. September 1, 2013. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1129 (H.B. 2620), Sec. 13, eff. September 1, 2019. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 410 (S.B. 1814), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2021.