By Denny H.B. No. 924
74R1587 JD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the revocation of the registration of a motor vehicle
1-3 operated in violation of the Texas Motor Vehicle
1-4 Safety-Responsibility Act.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Article I, Texas Motor Vehicle
1-7 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-8 Statutes), is amended by adding Section 1C-1 to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 1C-1. REVOCATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION. (a)
1-10 In this section, "department" means the Texas Department of
1-11 Transportation.
1-12 (b) The registration of a motor vehicle that is registered
1-13 in this state and operated by a person in violation of Section
1-14 1C(a) of this Act is subject to revocation by the department.
1-15 (c) The peace officer who arrests or issues a citation to a
1-16 person for an offense under Section 1C(a) of this Act shall:
1-17 (1) remove the license plates from the vehicle being
1-18 operated by the person;
1-19 (2) attach to the rear of the vehicle a temporary
1-20 registration permit that authorizes the operation of the vehicle;
1-21 and
1-22 (3) before the 10th day after the date that the
1-23 officer removes the license plates, send to the department at its
1-24 headquarters in Austin:
2-1 (A) the license plates removed by the officer;
2-2 and
2-3 (B) a report relating to the officer's removal
2-4 of the license plates, that includes:
2-5 (i) an identification of the offender;
2-6 (ii) an identification of the vehicle
2-7 being operated by the offender at the time of the offense;
2-8 (iii) the license plate number of the
2-9 impounded license plates;
2-10 (iv) a statement of the officer's grounds
2-11 for believing that the person committed the offense; and
2-12 (v) a copy of the citation issued to the
2-13 person for the violation, or if a criminal complaint has been filed
2-14 against the person in the case, a copy of the complaint.
2-15 (d) Except as provided by Subsection (j) of this section,
2-16 the department shall revoke the registration of the motor vehicle
2-17 that is the subject of the peace officer's report under Subsection
2-18 (c)(3)(B) of this section if the department determines that the
2-19 vehicle was operated in violation of Section 1C(a) of this Act.
2-20 (e) The department shall make the determination under
2-21 Subsection (d) of this section based on the report of the peace
2-22 officer submitted under Subsection (c)(3)(B) of this section. The
2-23 determination of the department is final unless a hearing is
2-24 requested under Subsection (k) of this section. If a hearing on
2-25 the revocation of the registration is held, the determination of
2-26 the court is final.
2-27 (f) A determination of the department under Subsection (d)
3-1 of this section or of the court under Subsection (m) or (n) of this
3-2 section:
3-3 (1) is independent of and not a bar to any matter in
3-4 issue in an adjudication of a criminal charge arising from the
3-5 alleged violation that is the basis for the revocation; and
3-6 (2) does not preclude litigation of the same or
3-7 similar facts in a criminal prosecution.
3-8 (g) The department shall send a notice of revocation by
3-9 certified mail to the owner of the vehicle being operated at the
3-10 time of the alleged violation at the owner's address in the records
3-11 of the department. Notice is considered received on the fifth day
3-12 after the date the notice is mailed. If the department determines
3-13 not to suspend a vehicle's registration, the department shall
3-14 notify the vehicle's owner of that determination and return the
3-15 vehicle's license plates to the owner of the vehicle.
3-16 (h) A notice of revocation under Subsection (g) of this
3-17 section must state:
3-18 (1) the reason for the revocation;
3-19 (2) the effective date of the revocation;
3-20 (3) the right of the owner to a hearing;
3-21 (4) how to request a hearing; and
3-22 (5) the date by which a request for a hearing must be
3-23 made.
3-24 (i) A motor vehicle registration revocation under Subsection
3-25 (d) of this section takes effect on the 30th day after the date the
3-26 owner of the vehicle:
3-27 (1) receives a notice of proposed revocation under
4-1 Subsection (g) of this section; or
4-2 (2) is considered to have received notice of proposed
4-3 revocation under that subsection.
4-4 (j) If, not later than the 10th day after the date on which
4-5 the owner of the motor vehicle receives notice of revocation under
4-6 Subsection (g) of this section or is considered to have received
4-7 notice under that subsection, the owner of the motor vehicle
4-8 requests a hearing on the revocation:
4-9 (1) the revocation of the registration of the vehicle
4-10 is stayed until the hearing is concluded; and
4-11 (2) the department shall issue a temporary
4-12 registration permit that authorizes the operation of the vehicle
4-13 until the hearing is concluded.
4-14 (k) A request for a hearing under Subsection (j) of this
4-15 section must be made in writing to the appropriate court. A copy
4-16 of the request for the hearing must be sent by certified mail to
4-17 the department at its headquarters in Austin.
4-18 (l) A hearing under this section shall be in the county
4-19 court at law in the county where the owner of the vehicle resides,
4-20 or if there is no county court at law in that county, in the county
4-21 court of that county. At the hearing:
4-22 (1) the owner of the vehicle may be represented by or
4-23 appear through counsel; and
4-24 (2) the department may be represented by a district,
4-25 county, or municipal attorney.
4-26 (m) The issues that must be proved at a hearing under this
4-27 section by a preponderance of the evidence are whether:
5-1 (1) the motor vehicle was operated in violation of
5-2 Section 1C(a) of this Act; and
5-3 (2) the violation was committed by the owner of the
5-4 vehicle, or by a person for whom, under Section 7.02, Penal Code,
5-5 the owner is criminally responsible.
5-6 (n) If the court finds in the affirmative on each issue
5-7 described by Subsection (m) of this section, the court shall
5-8 sustain the department's revocation of the vehicle's registration.
5-9 (o) If the court does not find in the affirmative on each
5-10 issue described by Subsection (m) of this section, the court shall:
5-11 (1) prohibit the department from revoking the
5-12 vehicle's registration; and
5-13 (2) order the department to return the vehicle's
5-14 license plates to the owner of the vehicle.
5-15 (p) A person who requests a hearing and without just cause
5-16 fails to appear waives the right to a hearing, and the department's
5-17 determination is final.
5-18 (q) The department shall reinstate a registration that has
5-19 been revoked by the department under this section if the person
5-20 accused of the violation of Section 1C(a) of this Act that was the
5-21 basis for the revocation is not convicted of the violation.
5-22 (r) The department shall:
5-23 (1) adopt rules to implement this section; and
5-24 (2) design the temporary registration permits and the
5-25 forms necessary to implement this section.
5-26 (s) The forms shall be used by all state and local law
5-27 enforcement agencies.
6-1 SECTION 2. Section 1C-1, Texas Motor Vehicle
6-2 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
6-3 Statutes), as added by this Act, takes effect January 1, 1996. The
6-4 department shall adopt rules and forms before that date and take
6-5 other actions necessary to prepare for the taking effect of that
6-6 section.
6-7 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.