73R10674 JD-D By Hartnett, Carona H.B. No. 950 Substitute the following for H.B. No. 950: By Hartnett C.S.H.B. No. 950 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the authority of certain police departments to 1-3 establish a checkpoint on a public highway to determine whether 1-4 persons are driving while intoxicated. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Title 116, Revised Statutes, is amended by adding 1-7 Article 6701l-8 to read as follows: 1-8 Art. 6701l-8. PUBLIC HIGHWAY CHECKPOINTS 1-9 Sec. 1. AUTHORIZATION FOR CHECKPOINTS. In a municipality 1-10 with a population of 250,000 or more, according to the most recent 1-11 federal decennial census, the police department of the municipality 1-12 may establish a temporary checkpoint on a public highway in the 1-13 municipality to determine whether persons operating motor vehicles 1-14 on the highway are intoxicated in violation of Article 6701l-1, 1-15 Revised Statutes, and its subsequent amendments, if the governing 1-16 body of the municipality has by ordinance authorized the department 1-17 to establish vehicle checkpoints in the municipality. The police 1-18 department may not operate a particular checkpoint for more than 1-19 one purpose. A person operating a motor vehicle on a public 1-20 highway is considered to have consented to inspection at a 1-21 checkpoint in return for the privilege of operating the motor 1-22 vehicle on a public highway. 1-23 Sec. 2. APPROVAL OF AND PROCEDURES FOR SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS. 1-24 (a) A peace officer of at least the rank of lieutenant in the 2-1 police department must approve the operation of a checkpoint by 2-2 peace officers of the department and the procedures to be used in 2-3 the operation of the checkpoint before the checkpoint begins 2-4 operation. 2-5 (b) The police department must record in writing the 2-6 procedures used in selecting the site for the checkpoint and the 2-7 procedures to be used in the operation of the checkpoint. 2-8 (c) Procedures governing the operation of a checkpoint must 2-9 ensure that motor vehicles are stopped on a reasonably predictable, 2-10 nonarbitrary basis, such as by requiring that every vehicle or 2-11 every other vehicle entering the checkpoint, from one or both 2-12 directions, be stopped. 2-13 (d) The police department shall establish the location, 2-14 time, and layout of the checkpoint with regard for the safety of 2-15 the public entering the checkpoint and the peace officers operating 2-16 the checkpoint. The police department shall make reasonable 2-17 efforts to place signs or other devices that will advise oncoming 2-18 drivers of the checkpoint and the purpose of the checkpoint, to 2-19 demarcate the checkpoint with flares, flags, or traffic cones, and 2-20 to otherwise illuminate the checkpoint if necessary. 2-21 (e) The peace officer who makes the initial contact with the 2-22 driver of a vehicle at the checkpoint must be in uniform. 2-23 (f) The police department shall establish procedures 2-24 governing the encounters between drivers and the peace officers 2-25 that ensure that any intrusion on the drivers is minimized and that 2-26 the inquiries made are reasonably related to the purpose of the 2-27 checkpoint. This subsection does not prohibit a peace officer from 3-1 requesting a driver to show that the driver possesses a driver's 3-2 license or evidence of financial responsibility as required by law. 3-3 A peace officer may not direct a driver or a passenger in a motor 3-4 vehicle to leave the vehicle or move the vehicle off the roadway 3-5 unless the officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to 3-6 believe that the person has committed or is committing an offense. 3-7 However, a peace officer may require that each motor vehicle 3-8 passing through the checkpoint be diverted to a location 3-9 immediately adjacent to the roadway, if desirable, to ensure 3-10 safety. A peace officer may not require a driver to perform a 3-11 sobriety test unless the officer has reasonable suspicion or 3-12 probable cause to believe that the driver is violating Article 3-13 6701l-1, Revised Statutes, and its subsequent amendments. A peace 3-14 officer who requires or requests a driver to provide a specimen of 3-15 breath, blood, or urine must comply with Chapter 434, Acts of the 3-16 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (Article 6701l-5, Vernon's 3-17 Texas Civil Statutes), and its subsequent amendments. Unless a 3-18 peace officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain 3-19 a driver or a passenger for a criminal offense, the time during 3-20 which an officer conducting the checkpoint makes an inquiry of a 3-21 driver or passenger should not exceed two minutes, and the total 3-22 time during which the driver must wait to pass through the 3-23 checkpoint should not exceed 10 minutes. The police department 3-24 shall make reasonable efforts to reduce these time periods to not 3-25 more than one and five minutes, respectively. 3-26 (g) The police department conducting a checkpoint shall make 3-27 reasonable efforts to publicize that it will conduct a checkpoint, 4-1 but the police department is not required to disclose the precise 4-2 date, time, purpose, or location of a particular checkpoint. 4-3 (h) In the absence of exigent circumstances, a police 4-4 department may not operate a checkpoint at one location for more 4-5 than four hours. In the absence of exigent circumstances, a 4-6 checkpoint may not be operated at a location more than twice in a 4-7 seven-day period, regardless of whether more than one police 4-8 department establishes a checkpoint at the location. For the 4-9 purposes of this subsection, checkpoints located within one-half 4-10 mile of each other are considered to be at the same location. 4-11 (i) A police department conducting a checkpoint shall keep a 4-12 record of the operation of a checkpoint that contains: 4-13 (1) the date, time, location, purpose, and duration of 4-14 the checkpoint; 4-15 (2) the number of motor vehicles stopped at the 4-16 checkpoint and the number and nature of arrests made or citations 4-17 issued at the checkpoint; and 4-18 (3) the identity of the peace officers operating the 4-19 checkpoint. 4-20 Sec. 3. DEFINITION. In this article, "public highway" has 4-21 the meaning assigned the term "highway" in the Uniform Act 4-22 Regulating Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil 4-23 Statutes) and its subsequent amendments. 4-24 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993, and 4-25 applies only to the procedures used in the operation of public 4-26 highway checkpoints operated on or after that date. This Act does 4-27 not invalidate public highway checkpoints operated before the 5-1 effective date of this Act. 5-2 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 5-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 5-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 5-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 5-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.