S.B. No. 995 amends the Transportation Code to streamline the approval process for surety bonds related to contracts that authorize oversize or overweight vehicles to cross roads or highways. The bill specifies that the surety bond must be approved by the Texas Department of Transportation, replacing the previous requirement for approval by the comptroller and the attorney general. This change is reflected in both Section 623.051(d) and Section 623.052(b), where the language has been updated to ensure that the Texas Department of Transportation is the sole approving authority for these bonds.

The bill also emphasizes that the surety bond must be executed with a corporate surety authorized to operate in Texas and must be conditioned on the fulfillment of the contract obligations. The changes made by this Act will only apply to surety bond approvals occurring on or after its effective date. The Act is set to take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature or on September 1, 2025, if such a vote is not achieved.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Transportation Code 623.051, Transportation Code 623.052 (Transportation Code 623)
Senate Committee Report: Transportation Code 623.051, Transportation Code 623.052 (Transportation Code 623)
Engrossed: Transportation Code 623.051, Transportation Code 623.052 (Transportation Code 623)
House Committee Report: Transportation Code 623.051, Transportation Code 623.052 (Transportation Code 623)
Enrolled: Transportation Code 623.051, Transportation Code 623.052 (Transportation Code 623)