The House today sent to the Senate a bill that would allow state employees to divert from the shortest route between two points to the safest route between two points.

The bill by Rep. David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, amends state law that now says state workers are reimbursed only for the cost of “the most cost-effective route between the origin of the state employee’s travel and the final duty point of the state employee.”

Farabee’s bill amends the law to allow reimbursement for “the most cost-effective reasonably safe route.” More specifically, the bill says reimbursement will be made for “the route that provides the safest road conditions.”

The official House analysis of the bill says “Many times, state employees are forced to travel at night on poorly lit roads, which increases the chance of a vehicle collision with wildlife. Other times, state employees may need to deviate their travel in order to avoid extreme weather or other hostile conditions.”