Title TN, Transportation Code

Sec. 66.0115. QUALIFICATIONS; VACANCY. (a) Except as otherwise provided by Sections 66.011 and 66.0116, each pilot commissioner must be a property tax payer and a qualified voter in Harris County. (b) A person is not eligible for appointment to the board if the person: (1) has pr…

Sec. 66.0116. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR; TERM. (a) The City of Houston mayor and city council and the Harris County Commissioners Court shall jointly appoint the chair of the board in January of odd-numbered years. The term of the chair expires on February 1 of each odd-numbered year.…

Sec. 66.012. PROHIBITED INTEREST. A person may not be a member of the board if the person, directly or indirectly, is engaged in or has an interest in any pilot boat or in any other business affected by or connected with the performance of the person's duties as a pilot commissio…

Sec. 66.013. OATH. Before beginning service as a board member, each board member must take and sign, before a person authorized to administer oaths, an oath to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995…

Sec. 66.014. TERM OF OFFICE. Pilot commissioners other than the chair serve staggered terms of two years that expire on February 1. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1346 (S.B. 1915), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2…

Sec. 66.015. JURISDICTION. The board has exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of pilots who provide pilot services in Harris County ports, including intermediate stops and landing places for vessels on navigable streams wholly or partially located in the board's jurisdictio…

Sec. 66.016. ADMINISTRATION; RULES. (a) The board shall administer this chapter and may perform any act or function necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this chapter. (b) The board may adopt rules to carry out this chapter. (c) The board may adopt a rule under this …

Sec. 66.017. DUTIES. The board shall: (1) establish the number of pilots necessary to provide adequate pilot services for each Harris County port; (2) accept applications for pilot licenses and certificates and determine whether each applicant meets the qualifications for a pilot…

Sec. 66.0172. EFFICIENT PILOT SERVICE; MAXIMUM VESSEL LENGTH. (a) In this section: (1) "Two-way route" means a directional route within defined limits inside which two-way traffic is established, and which is intended to improve safety in waters where navigation is difficult. (2)…

Sec. 66.018. UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) In all its duties, including rulemaking, the board may not sanction discriminatory practices or discriminate against a pilot or pilot applicant because of race, religion, sex, ethnic origin, or national origin. (b) A person seeki…

Sec. 66.019. OPEN MEETINGS LAW. Chapter 551, Government Code, applies to actions and proceedings under this chapter. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 66.020. RULE OR RATE CHANGE. (a) The board shall give at least 10 days' notice as provided by this section before the board adopts a rule or changes a pilotage rate. (b) The board shall post the notice and a copy of the proposed rule or change at the board office for public …

Sec. 66.021. CONTESTED CASE NOTICE. The board shall post in the board office for public inspection a notice that includes the same information as the notice given to the parties in each contested case. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 66.022. JUDICIAL REVIEW. Proceedings for judicial review of a board decision shall be brought in a district court in Harris County. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. SUBCHAPTER C. PILOT LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES

Sec. 66.031. LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. A person may not provide pilot services unless the person has a license or certificate issued under this chapter for the Harris County ports in which the pilot services are to be provided. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. S…

Sec. 66.032. EXEMPTIONS. The requirement to use a pilot does not apply to: (1) a vessel sailing under enrollment, or licensed or engaged in the coasting trade between Texas ports or between any Texas port and any other port of the United States; or (2) a vessel exempt under feder…

Sec. 66.033. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSE. To be eligible for a license as a branch pilot, a person must: (1) be at least 25 years of age and less than 68 years of age; (2) be a United States citizen; (3) as of the date the license is issued, have resided continuously in this state…

Sec. 66.034. QUALIFICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATE. To be eligible for a certificate as a deputy branch pilot, a person must: (1) be at least 25 years of age; (2) be a United States citizen; (3) hold a license under federal law to act as a pilot on vessels that navigate water on which t…

Sec. 66.035. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE. To apply for a branch pilot's license or a deputy branch pilot's certificate, a person must give to the board a written application in the form and manner required by board rule. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept…

Sec. 66.036. CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION. (a) The board shall carefully consider each application and shall conduct any investigation it considers necessary to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a license or certificate. (b) As part of its consideration of applicati…

Sec. 66.037. BRANCH PILOT APPOINTMENT BY GOVERNOR. (a) On filing of the bond and oath required by Section 66.039, the board shall certify to the governor that a person licensed as a branch pilot has qualified. (b) On receipt of the board's certification, the governor shall issue …

Sec. 66.038. DEPUTY BRANCH PILOT APPOINTMENT BY BRANCH PILOT. (a) Each branch pilot may appoint, subject to examination and approval by the board, two deputy branch pilots for whose acts the branch pilot is responsible. (b) A branch pilot may appoint an additional deputy branch p…

Sec. 66.039. OATH; BOND. (a) A person appointed as a pilot must take the official oath before entering service as a pilot. The oath shall be endorsed on the bond required by Subsection (b). (b) Each pilot must execute a $25,000 bond payable to the governor and conditioned on comp…

Sec. 66.040. TERMS OF LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES. (a) A branch pilot's license expires on the fourth anniversary of the date it is issued or renewed, provided that no pilot may furnish pilot services under authority of a license after the pilot's 68th birthday. (b) A deputy branch…

Sec. 66.041. BRANCH PILOT'S LICENSE RENEWAL. (a) The governor shall renew a branch pilot's expiring license if the board recommends renewal. (b) If a pilot applies in writing and qualifies, the board shall recommend renewal unless the board determines there is probable cause not …

Sec. 66.042. DEPUTY BRANCH PILOT. A person who has been issued a deputy branch pilot's certificate may not be issued a deputy branch pilot's certificate before the fifth anniversary of the date the person was previously issued a deputy branch pilot's certificate. Acts 1995, 74th …

Sec. 66.043. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF BRANCH PILOT'S LICENSE. (a) On complaint or on its own motion, and after notice and hearing, the board may suspend a branch pilot's license for not more than six months or recommend that the governor revoke a branch pilot's license if the …

Sec. 66.044. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF DEPUTY BRANCH PILOT'S CERTIFICATE. A deputy branch pilot's certificate may be suspended or revoked by the board in the same manner and for the same reasons as provided for the revocation or suspension of a branch pilot's license by Section…

Sec. 66.045. LIABILITY TO PILOT. (a) A person who is not a pilot and who, in violation of this chapter, pilots a vessel and the consignee of the vessel are liable to a pilot, on written demand, for the amount of the applicable pilotage rate. (b) In an action to recover compensati…

Sec. 66.061. PILOTAGE RATE CHANGE. The board may not change pilotage rates before the first anniversary of the preceding rate change. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 66.062. PILOTAGE RATE CHANGE APPLICATION. (a) An application for a change in pilotage rates may be submitted to the board by: (1) a pilot; (2) an association of pilots; (3) a consignee liable under Section 66.070 to pay pilotage rates; or (4) an association of consignees. (b…

Sec. 66.063. PILOT FINANCIAL REPORT. (a) Not later than the 10th day before the date set for a pilotage rate hearing, the pilots who are licensed or certified to serve the port for which the rates are being considered shall submit in writing to the board and to any party designat…

Sec. 66.064. FACTORS FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION. In establishing pilotage rates, the board shall consider factors relevant to determining reasonable and just pilotage rates, including: (1) characteristics of vessels to be piloted; (2) the average number of hours spent by a pilot per…

Sec. 66.065. RATE DECISION. Not later than the 10th day after the date of the completion of a hearing on an application for a change in pilotage rates, the board shall issue a written decision that: (1) grants or denies the application in whole or in part; (2) states the reasons …

Sec. 66.066. COSTS. The board, in a final order under this subchapter, may charge all or part of the costs of processing an application to the parties in the proceedings. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 66.067. APPEAL OF BOARD DECISION. Any party aggrieved by a board decision on pilotage rates, after exhausting all administrative remedies, may appeal the order to a court. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 66.068. EMERGENCY PILOTAGE RATES. (a) The board may establish emergency pilotage rates for the period of an emergency, not to exceed 30 days, if the board finds that: (1) a natural or man-made disaster has created a substantial hazard to piloting vessels into and out of a po…

Sec. 66.069. PILOT SERVICES REQUIRED. The consignee of a vessel under the consignee's control shall obtain pilot services for the vessel and shall pay the pilot who pilots the vessel into and out of the port area compensation according to the pilotage rates filed by the board. Ac…

Sec. 66.070. PILOTAGE RATE LIABILITY. (a) A consignee who declines the services of a pilot offered outside the bar and enters the port without the aid of a pilot is liable for the payment of pilotage to the first pilot whose services were declined. (b) A consignee is liable for t…

Sec. 66.071. RECOVERY OF COMPENSATION. A pilot who offers pilot services to a vessel required under this chapter to obtain pilot services and whose services are refused is entitled to recover from the consignee the pilotage rate for the services. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Se…

Sec. 66.081. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to: (1) in the public interest, stimulate and preserve maritime commerce on the pilotage grounds of this state by limiting and regulating the liability of pilots; and (2) maintain pilotage fees at reasonable amounts. Acts 19…

Sec. 66.082. PILOT LIABILITY. A pilot is not liable directly or as a member of an organization of pilots for any claim that: (1) arises from an act or omission of another pilot or organization of pilots; and (2) relates directly or indirectly to pilot services. Acts 1995, 74th Le…

Sec. 66.083. PILOT LIABILITY LIMITED. (a) A pilot providing pilot services is not liable for more than $1,000 for damage or loss caused by the pilot's error, omission, fault, or neglect in the performance of the pilot services, except as provided by Subsection (b). (b) Subsection…