Persons exempted from commercial driver license (CDL) requirements are:
  (1) A person operating a vehicle that is controlled and operated by a farmer which is used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm and which is not used in the operations of a common or contract carrier and used within 150 miles of the person's farm.
    (A) Under this exemption, a rancher is considered a farmer.
    (B) A farmer and his farmhands are equally exempt when the farmhands are in the employ of the farmer.
    (C) One who purchases a crop in a field and only harvests and transports the produce, but takes no part in the planting and cultivating of the product, is not considered a farmer.
    (D) One who purchases acres of growing timber and cultivates and harvests it over a period of months or years is considered a farmer.
  (2) A person operating a fire fighting or emergency vehicle necessary to the preservation of life or property or the execution of emergency governmental functions, whether operated by an employee of a political subdivision or by a volunteer fire fighter, or a fire fighter employed by a private company, for example, a refinery. This would not exempt operators of vehicles used by utility companies.
    (A) Drivers of industrial emergency response vehicles, including an industrial ambulance are exempt only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with criteria established by the Texas Industrial Fire Training Board or the State Firemen's and Fire Marshall's Association of Texas.
    (B) Drivers of public or private ambulances are exempt only if they have been issued a license by the Department of State Health Services.
    (C) Electric company employees repairing downed power lines are not exempt.
  (3) A person operating a military vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle, when operated for military purposes by military personnel, members of the reserves and national guard on active duty (including personnel on full-time national guard duty), personnel on part-time training duty, and national guard military technicians. This exemption includes the operation of vehicles leased by the United States government for use by the military branches of government.
  (4) A person operating a vehicle that is a recreational vehicle that is driven for personal use.
    (A) For purposes of this exemption recreational vehicle means a vehicular type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational camping or travel use that either has its own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle.
    (B) This exemption includes travel trailers, camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes.
  (5) A person operating a vehicle that is owned, leased, or controlled by an air carrier, as defined by Texas Transportation Code, §21.155(d), and that is driven or operated exclusively by an employee of the air carrier only on the premises of an airport, as defined by Texas Transportation Code, §22.001(2), on service roads to which the public does not have access.
  (6) A person operating a vehicle used exclusively to transport seed cotton modules or cotton burrs.

Source Note: The provisions of this §16.3 adopted to be effective September 14, 2016, 41 TexReg 7117