Relating to the designation of portions of the state highway system as memorial highways, to certain memorial markers on certain highways, and to the installation of highway signs for certain cultural attractions.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) • Texas Transportation Commission
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Law has immediate effect).
Compliance Deadline:
March 1, 2026: Hard deadline for vendors to switch to new motorcycle memorial sign specifications.
September 1, 2026: Hard deadline for installation of Koreatown (Dallas) and Chinatown (Richardson) signage.
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Transportation Commission must adopt rules defining allowable "motorcyclist safety messages" by December 1, 2025. Manufacturers cannot finalize templates until these rules are published.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Retire Old Templates: Flag all "Red Cross" motorcycle memorial templates for retirement effective March 1, 2026.
2.Monitor the Texas Register: Assign compliance staff to watch for the Texas Transportation Commission's proposed rules on safety messages between September and December 2025.
3.Audit DFW Projects: Contractors operating near I-35E, I-635, and US 75 must incorporate the cultural district signage into their FY2026 installation schedules.
4.Verify Funding: Instruct sales/project managers to require proof of grant funding before accepting orders for the specific memorial highways named in this bill.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
TxDOT Vendor Agreements: Master Service Agreements (MSAs) for signage fabrication will require updates to standard specifications for motorcycle markers (Section 201.911).
Private Funding Contingencies: Contracts for the specific memorial highways (Bosecker, Bell, Hamby-Webb) must include clauses making fabrication contingent upon TxDOT’s receipt of grant funding or private donations (per Transportation Code Section 225.021(c)).
Hiring/Training
Design & Engineering: Design teams must be briefed on the new template requirements for motorcycle signs (removing the Red Cross symbol).
MUTCD Compliance: Engineering staff must ensure "Koreatown" and "Chinatown" wayfinding signs strictly adhere to the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to avoid liability for non-standard signage.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Safety Message Verification: Vendors must implement a verification step to ensure the text on motorcycle memorial signs matches the exact verbiage released by the Commission in December 2025.
Grant Tracking: Maintain proof of funding/donation receipts from private entities before commencing work on memorial highway markers to ensure payment eligibility.
Fees & Costs
Cost Recovery: There are no new state fees; however, costs for memorial markers are strictly "pay-to-play." Vendors should not bill TxDOT directly for these specific markers unless a project code linked to the donation fund is provided.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Undefined Safety Messages: The specific text for motorcycle signs is currently unknown. The Commission has broad discretion to define these messages. Do not pre-fabricate blanks until the final rule is adopted in late 2025 to avoid inventory waste.
Cultural District Sign Placement: The law mandates signs "indicating the location of" cultural districts but leaves exact placement to TxDOT discretion subject to MUTCD. Contractors may face friction between municipal desires for visibility and TxDOT engineering standards for safety.
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The bill author has informed the committee that Petty Officer Billy Wayne Machen, who was killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1966, was the first U.S. Navy SEAL to be killed in combat in the Vietnam war and that as a point man for his team, Machen led his fellow SEALs through the jungle, sensing something was wrong and sacrificing his own life by taking on an enemy ambush alone to save his troops waiting behind.
The bill author has also informed the committee that in the summer of 2024, nine-year old Molly Mullens was killed in a head-on collision when driving home from Colorado with her family, and that after learning from local law enforcement that the stretch of highway is a known accident "hot spot," the Mullens family worked to improve safety by replacing the cable barriers with concrete barriers, hoping to prevent future accidents.
The bill author has further informed the committee that on September 17, Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vasquez was struck by a vehicle while investigating a traffic crash along State Highway 302 and that, tragically, Trooper Ramirez Vasquez succumbed to his injuries on September 28, becoming the 241st Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823.
C.S.H.B. 3642 seeks to honor the lives and legacies of these individuals by designating certain portions of the state highway system as memorial highways and bridges in their honor.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3642 amends the Transportation Code to designate certain portions of the state highway system as the following memorial highways and bridges:
·the Farm-to-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Memorial Bridge, in addition to any other designation;
·the portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County between its intersection with County Road 111 and County Road 132 East as the Molly Mullens Mile, in addition to any other designation; and
·the portion of State Highway 302 in Ector County between its intersection with Farm-to-Market Road 2019 and the Ector-Winkler County line as the Trooper Kevin Ramirez Vasquez Memorial Highway.
Subject to a grant or donation of funds, the bill requires the Texas Department of Transportation to do the following:
·design and construct markers indicating the designations as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Memorial Bridge, the Molly Mullens Mile, and the Trooper Kevin Ramirez Vasquez Memorial Highway, as applicable, and any other appropriate information;
·erect a marker at each end of the Petty Officer Billy Machen Memorial Bridge; and
·erect a marker at each end of the Molly Mullens Mile and the Trooper Kevin Ramirez Vasquez Memorial Highway, and at appropriate intermediate sites along each highway.
The bill establishes the legislature's intent that the bill's provisions be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3642 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
The substitute changes the designation of the Farm-to-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County from the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge, as in the introduced, to the Petty Officer Billy Machen Memorial Bridge. Whereas the introduced designated the applicable portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County as the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway, the substitute designates that portion as the Molly Mullens Mile.
HB3642 mandates new fabrication standards for motorcycle fatality markers, replacing the "Red Cross" symbol with variable safety messaging, and requires the installation of specific cultural district signage in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Highway signage manufacturers and TxDOT contractors must update fabrication templates and schedule installations to meet staggered compliance deadlines ending in September 2026. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Law has immediate effect).
Q
Who authored HB3642?
HB3642 was authored by Texas Representative Cole Hefner during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB3642 signed into law?
HB3642 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB3642?
HB3642 is enforced by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Texas Transportation Commission.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB3642?
The compliance urgency for HB3642 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB3642?
The cost impact of HB3642 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB3642 address?
HB3642 addresses topics including ector county, upshur county, wilbarger county, highways and petty officer billy machen bridge.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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