By:  Goodman                                           H.B. No. 272
       73R543 MLM-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to accessibility of vehicle accident reports.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 47, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
    1-5  Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
    1-6  to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 47.  Accident Reports.  (a)  Except as provided by
    1-8  Subsection (b) of this section, all  <All> accident reports made as
    1-9  required by this Act or Section 4, Texas Motor Vehicle
   1-10  Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
   1-11  Statutes), by persons involved in accidents, by garages, or peace
   1-12  officers shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting
   1-13  and shall be privileged and for the confidential use of the
   1-14  Department or other State agencies having use for the records for
   1-15  accident prevention purposes<, except that the Department may
   1-16  disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when such
   1-17  identity is not otherwise known or when such person denies his
   1-18  presence at such accident, provided that accident reports submitted
   1-19  by peace officers after January 1, 1970, are public records open
   1-20  for inspection>.
   1-21        (b)  For a period of 180 days after the date of an accident,
   1-22  the Department or a law enforcement agency employing a peace
   1-23  officer who made an accident report may release a copy of the
   1-24  report only to:
    2-1              (1)  a State agency described by Subsection (a) of this
    2-2  section;
    2-3              (2)  a court in which a case arising out of the
    2-4  accident is pending;
    2-5              (3)  a driver, passenger, or other person involved;
    2-6              (4)  the guardian or conservator of a person involved;
    2-7              (5)  a parent of a person involved who is a minor;
    2-8              (6)  an authorized representative of a driver involved;
    2-9              (7)  a representative of the insurance company of a
   2-10  driver involved;
   2-11              (8)  a representative of a person killed or injured in
   2-12  the accident;
   2-13              (9)  an owner of property damaged as a result of the
   2-14  accident;
   2-15              (10)  a person who may be subject to civil liability as
   2-16  a result of the accident;
   2-17              (11)  a member of the news media; or
   2-18              (12)  an attorney who represents an individual
   2-19  described by this subsection.
   2-20        (c)  After the period provided by Subsection (b) of this
   2-21  section, an accident report submitted to the Department after
   2-22  January 1, 1970, is a public record open for inspection.
   2-23        (d)  The  <After January 1, 1970, the> Department shall
   2-24  provide a copy or copies of any peace officer's report that may be
   2-25  released as provided by this section on <submitted after that date
   2-26  to any person upon> written request and payment of a Four Dollar
   2-27  ($4) fee.  Such copy may be certified by the Department for an
    3-1  additional fee of Two Dollars ($2).  In the event no report is on
    3-2  file the Department may certify such fact for a fee of Four Dollars
    3-3  ($4).
    3-4        (e)  All fees collected under this Section shall be placed in
    3-5  the Operators and Chauffeurs License Fund and are hereby
    3-6  appropriated to be used by the Department in the administration of
    3-7  this Act.
    3-8        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993, and
    3-9  applies to all requests made on or after that date for copies of
   3-10  accident reports.  A request that was made before the effective
   3-11  date of this Act for an accident report is governed by the law as
   3-12  it existed at the time the request was made, and the former law is
   3-13  continued in effect for this purpose.
   3-14        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-15  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-16  emergency   and   an   imperative   public   necessity   that   the
   3-17  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-18  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.