Bill > SB2949

This bill introduces comprehensive regulations for export fuel transloading facilities and motor fuel transportation in Texas, significantly expanding oversight and creating new licensing requirements and criminal penalties. The bill requires motor fuel transporters to ensure that all employees and contractors have specific hazardous materials transportation licenses for their state or country, and establishes a new category of "export fuel transloading facility operator" that must be licensed and registered with multiple state agencies. Transloading facilities located near border crossings or within ports of entry will be subject to strict reporting requirements, including daily logs of vehicle and fuel movements, and must ensure that fuel in any given tank is owned and removed by the same entity. The bill imposes a $25,000 civil penalty for non-compliance with employee licensing requirements and creates new criminal offenses related to improper fuel transportation and transloading, including some offenses that are classified as third-degree felonies. Additionally, the bill expands tracking requirements for shipping documents, adds new registration and inspection protocols for transloading facilities, and prohibits certain overweight vehicles carrying hazardous materials from operating outside designated permit routes. The regulations will be phased in, with full implementation beginning January 1, 2026, and aim to prevent tax evasion, ensure public safety, and create more transparent fuel transportation practices.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Military Affairs and Security

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB2949