88R11953 SCL-F     By: Leach H.B. No. 4218       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to civil actions involving commercial motor vehicles.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 72.051(2) and (4), Civil Practice and   Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:                (2)  "Civil action" means an action in which:                      (A)  a claimant seeks recovery of damages for   bodily injury or death caused in an accident; and                      (B)  a defendant:                            (i)  operated a commercial motor vehicle   involved in the accident; or                            (ii)  owned, leased, rented, or [otherwise]   held or exercised legal control over a commercial motor vehicle or   operator of a commercial motor vehicle involved in the accident.                (4)  "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle   being used for commercial purposes in interstate or intrastate   commerce to transport property or passengers, deliver or transport   goods, or provide services.  [The term does not include a motor   vehicle being used at the time of the accident for personal, family,   or household purposes.]          SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 72, Civil Practice and   Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 72.0512 to read as   follows:          Sec. 72.0512.  APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER.   Notwithstanding Section 72.051, a motor vehicle being used at the   time of an accident for personal, family, or household purposes is   not considered a commercial motor vehicle for purposes of this   subchapter unless:                (1)  the motor vehicle had a gross vehicle weight   rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 6,000 pounds; and                (2)  the owner's liability for the accident is governed   by 49 U.S.C. Section 30106.          SECTION 3.  Section 72.053, Civil Practice and Remedies   Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:          (d)  In a civil action under this subchapter, the duty of   care applicable to an owner, lessor, or operator of a commercial   motor vehicle involved in an accident or a person renting the   vehicle to another person does not include an obligation or duty to   retrofit the vehicle with component parts or equipment, or to have   selected component parts or equipment to be included on the   vehicle, that were not required by applicable federal motor vehicle   safety standards at the time the vehicle was manufactured or sold.   Evidence related to such an alleged duty is not admissible in any   phase of trial.          SECTION 4.  (a) The change in law made by this Act applies   only to an action:                (1)  commenced on or after the effective date of this   Act; or                (2)  pending on the effective date of this Act and in   which the trial, or any new trial or retrial following motion,   appeal, or otherwise, begins on or after the effective date of this   Act.          (b)  In an action commenced before the effective date of this   Act, a trial, new trial, or retrial that is in progress on the   effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the   trial, new trial, or retrial immediately before the effective date   of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2023.