HBA-JEK H.B. 3618 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3618 By: Moreno, Joe E. Transportation 4/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires the consignee of a vessel entering or leaving the Port of Corpus Christi to obtain pilot services from a pilot who is licensed as a branch pilot or certified as a deputy branch pilot under Texas statute. A number of federally certified pilots have extensive experience ingressing and egressing the Port of Corpus Christi and are familiar with navigation and safety issues associated with the port even though they do not hold state licenses. House Bill 3618 allows a consignee to hire a federally certified pilot to perform pilot services if the pilot has successfully completed one hundred round trips of ingress and egress in the Port of Corpus Christi. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3618 amends the Transportation Code to provide that a consignee who engages a federally certified pilot to guide a vessel into or out of the Port of Corpus Christi is exempt from the requirement that the pilot be state licensed if the federally certified pilot has successfully completed 100 round trips of ingress and egress in the Port of Corpus Christi. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.