Relating to the designation of a portion of State Highway 11 in Morris County as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway.

BILL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle of Naples, Texas, served his country as a member of the 327th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Staff Sergeant Castle was killed in action on May 11, 2005, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated in Asad, Iraq. The commissioners court of Morris County support the renaming of the unincorporated sections of Highway 11 between the city limits of Daingerfield and Hughes Springs, Texas, as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway.

S.B. 1369 proposes that the portion of State Highway 11 in Morris County between the eastern municipal limits of Daingerfield and the western municipal limits of Hughes Springs be designated as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway, in honor of his service to his country. This designation is in addition to any other designation.

As proposed, S.B. 1369 amends current law relating to the designation of a portion of State Highway 11 in Morris County as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 225, Transportation Code, by adding Section 225.243, as follows:

Sec. 225.243.� ARMY STAFF SERGEANT SAMUEL T. CASTLE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY. (a) Provides that the portion of State Highway 11 in Morris County between the eastern municipal limits of Daingerfield and the western municipal limits of Hughes Springs is designated as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway. Provides that the designation is in addition to any other designation.

(b)� Requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), subject to Section 225.021(c) (relating to prohibiting TxDOT from designing, constructing, or erecting a marker unless a grant or donation of funds is made to cover the cost), to design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Army Staff Sergeant Samuel T. Castle Memorial Highway and any other appropriate information and erect a marker at each end of the highway and at appropriate intermediate sites along the highway.

SECTION 2. Provides that it is the intention of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, that the provisions added by this Act be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.