1-1 By: Place (Senate Sponsor - Sibley) H.B. No. 536
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House March 8, 1993;
1-3 March 9, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; April 19, 1993, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 19, 1993, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-8 Harris of Dallas x
1-9 Rosson x
1-10 Carriker x
1-11 Henderson x
1-12 Leedom x
1-13 Lucio x
1-14 Luna x
1-15 Nelson x
1-16 Patterson x
1-17 Shelley x
1-18 Sibley x
1-19 West x
1-20 Whitmire x
1-21 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-22 AN ACT
1-23 relating to the law governing consent by certain persons to the
1-24 taking of breath or blood samples.
1-25 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-26 SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 434, Acts of the 61st
1-27 Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (Article 6701l-5, Vernon's Texas
1-28 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-29 Sec. 1. Any person who operates a motor vehicle in <upon the
1-30 public highways or upon> a public place <beach> in this state shall
1-31 be deemed to have given consent, subject to the provisions of this
1-32 Act, to submit to the taking of one or more specimens of his breath
1-33 or blood for the purpose of analysis to determine the alcohol
1-34 concentration or the presence in his body of a controlled substance
1-35 or drug if arrested for any offense arising out of acts alleged to
1-36 have been committed while a person was driving or in actual
1-37 physical control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Any person
1-38 so arrested may consent to the giving of any other type of specimen
1-39 to determine his alcohol concentration, but he shall not be deemed,
1-40 solely on the basis of his operation of a motor vehicle in <upon
1-41 the public highways or upon> a public place <beach> in this state,
1-42 to have given consent to give any type of specimen other than a
1-43 specimen of his breath or blood. The specimen, or specimens, shall
1-44 be taken at the request of a peace officer having reasonable
1-45 grounds to believe the person to have been driving or in actual
1-46 physical control of a motor vehicle in <upon the public highways or
1-47 upon> a public place <beach> in this state while intoxicated.
1-48 SECTION 2. Section 2(f), Chapter 434, Acts of the 61st
1-49 Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (Article 6701l-5, Vernon's Texas
1-50 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-51 (f) When the director receives the report, the director
1-52 shall suspend the person's license, permit, or nonresident
1-53 operating privilege, or shall issue an order prohibiting the person
1-54 from obtaining a license or permit, for 90 days effective 28 days
1-55 after the date the person receives notice by certified mail or 31
1-56 days after the date the director sends notice by certified mail, if
1-57 the person has not accepted delivery of the notice. If, not later
1-58 than the 20th day after the date on which the person receives
1-59 notice by certified mail or the 23rd day after the date the
1-60 director sent notice by certified mail, if the person has not
1-61 accepted delivery of the notice, the department receives a written
1-62 demand that a hearing be held, the department shall, not later than
1-63 the 10th day after the day of receipt of the demand, request a
1-64 court to set the hearing for the earliest possible date. The
1-65 hearing shall be set in the same manner as a hearing under Section
1-66 22(a), Chapter 173, Acts of the 47th Legislature, Regular Session,
1-67 1941, as amended (Article 6687b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
1-68 If, upon such hearing the court finds (1) that probable cause
2-1 existed that such person was driving or in actual physical control
2-2 of a motor vehicle in <on the highway or upon> a public place
2-3 <beach> while intoxicated, (2) that the person was placed under
2-4 arrest by the officer and was offered an opportunity to give a
2-5 specimen under the provisions of this Act, and (3) that such person
2-6 refused to give a specimen upon request of the officer, then the
2-7 Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety shall suspend the
2-8 person's license or permit to drive, or any nonresident operating
2-9 privilege for a period of 90 days, as ordered by the court. If the
2-10 person is a resident without a license or permit to operate a motor
2-11 vehicle in this State, the Texas Department of Public Safety shall
2-12 deny to the person the issuance of a license or permit for 90 days.
2-13 SECTION 3. Sections 3(j)(5) and (6), Chapter 434, Acts of
2-14 the 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (Article 6701l-5,
2-15 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are repealed.
2-16 SECTION 4. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-17 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-18 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before
2-19 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
2-20 occurred before the effective date.
2-21 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-22 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-23 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-24 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
2-25 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
2-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-28 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-29 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-30 * * * * *
2-31 Austin,
2-32 Texas
2-33 April 19, 1993
2-34 Hon. Bob Bullock
2-35 President of the Senate
2-36 Sir:
2-37 We, your Committee on State Affairs to which was referred H.B.
2-38 No. 536, have had the same under consideration, and I am instructed
2-39 to report it back to the Senate with the recommendation that it do
2-40 pass and be printed.
2-41 Rosson,
2-42 Vice-Chairman
2-43 * * * * *
2-44 WITNESSES
2-45 FOR AGAINST ON
2-46 ___________________________________________________________________
2-47 Name: Karen Housewright x
2-48 Representing: MADD
2-49 City: Austin
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2-51 Name: Robert Kepple x
2-52 Representing: TX Dist & Co Attorneys
2-53 City: Austin
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