Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 370 amends the Government Code to continue the Texas Department of Public Safety until September 1, 2009. The act exempts meetings of the Public Safety Commission that involve an ongoing criminal investigation from the open meetings law.

            The act requires the commission to establish procedures and practices for an employee to appeal a disciplinary action and to address an employment-related grievance. It also directs the commission to establish procedures that would allow an employee to use mediation to resolve personnel disputes. The act requires the commission to review all discharges of officers or employees. It authorizes a discharged officer or employee to request a judicial review in a district court under the substantial evidence standard of review not later than the 90th day after the date the commission affirms the discharge, and establishes that the officer remains suspended without pay while the case is under judicial review. The act also requires the department, with the advice and consent of the commission, to establish procedures for promoting officers, and sets the probation period for officers.

            Senate Bill 370 authorizes the director of the Department of Public Safety, rather than the commission, to appoint assistant directors, with the advice and consent of the commission. It authorizes the director to appoint individuals to management team positions and establishes procedures for their removal. The act establishes that the division heads report directly to the director, rather than the commission, on employee efficiency and authorizes the director to make management decisions regarding an employee or officer without commission approval. The act requires the director to establish an office of internal affairs and to appoint a director and establishes the duties of the office and its director.

            Senate Bill 370 requires the commission to approve all department dispositions of seized or forfeited assets. It directs the commission to establish an office of audit and review to promote effectiveness in the department and to appoint a director for the office. The act specifies the powers and duties of the office and its director. The act authorizes the commission to appoint certain officers as special Texas Rangers, who are subject to the orders of the commission and the governor for special duty. It establishes procedures regarding the jurisdiction and the commissioning of a special Texas Ranger.

            Senate Bill 370 requires the director to use noncommissioned staff to assist the commissioned officers in the inspection of commercial motor vehicles at fixed site facilities and establishes requirements for training the noncommissioned employees.

            The act requires the department to maintain statistics related to people who are licensed to carry a handgun and are convicted, rather than arrested, for the offense of unlawfully carrying a handgun. It authorizes the department, in conjunction with Southwest Texas State University, to produce state maps that include information regarding crime statistics correlated with the various regions of the state. The act deletes the requirement that the department, when issuing a concealed handgun license or a change of name or address, notify the sheriff of the county in which the license holder resides.

            The act directs the department to develop a long-term needs assessment and to consider certain items for the enforcement of commercial motor vehicle rules. The act requires the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Transportation to establish procedures to ensure coordination when developing transportation infrastructure projects that affect both agencies.

            Senate Bill 370 amends the Transportation Code to make it an offense to attach certain items to a license plate that make it unreadable or distort angular visibility or detectability. It authorizes the department to contract with an entity to provide information regarding traffic law convictions or motor vehicle accidents to assist in underwriting existing motor vehicle insurance policies.

            The act allows the department to develop rules to govern payment methods for fees for a driver's license, personal identification card, or license record. It authorizes the department to renew a personal identification certificate or driver's license by mail, by telephone, over the Internet, or by other electronic means, and to establish procedures for renewal. The act requires the department to provide space on a driver's license for an emergency contact telephone number and increases the fee for reinstating a suspended or revoked license from $50 to $100. It prohibits the department from requiring a driver's license applicant to provide a social security number unless it is required under federal law. The act requires the department to issue a new driver's license number or personal identification certificate number to a person with a court order stating that the person has been a victim of domestic violence.

            The act increases the fee for an annual vehicle inspection from $10.50 to $12.50. It expands the list of items to be inspected on vehicles and equipment to include the fuel tank cap and the emissions control equipment. It requires the department to establish by rule, on or before September 1 of each year, the fee for the initial two-year vehicle inspection sticker, and establishes that the fee may not be less than $21.75. It amends the eligibility standards for a municipal police officer to apply for a certification to enforce commercial motor vehicle safety standards. The act authorizes the commission and the Department of Public Safety to establish rules allowing for alternative vehicle emissions testing if the technology proves accurate and is readily available and if the testing is not likely to affect federal approval of the state's air quality implementation plan. It establishes that the rules adopted may not be more restrictive than federal regulations governing vehicle emissions testing.

            Under current law, certain professional licensing agencies are required to submit updated information on licensees to the department each month. Senate Bill 370 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to change the frequency of reporting from monthly to quarterly. The act prohibits the department from charging a fee to an agency greater than the direct cost incurred by the department for performing a criminal history check on each licensee.