1-1  By:  Delisi (Senate Sponsor - Harris)                 H.B. No. 1375
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1995;
    1-3  May 9, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State
    1-4  Affairs; May 22, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
    1-5  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 22, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the punishment for the purchase, possession, or
    1-9  consumption of alcoholic beverages by a minor.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Section 106.115, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
   1-12  amended to read as follows:
   1-13        Sec. 106.115.  Attendance at Alcohol Awareness Course;
   1-14  License Suspension.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), on
   1-15  <On the first> conviction of a minor of an offense under Section
   1-16  106.02, 106.04, or 106.05 <of this code>, the court, in addition to
   1-17  assessing a fine as provided by those sections, shall <may> require
   1-18  the defendant to attend an alcohol awareness course approved by the
   1-19  Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse <or a similar alcohol
   1-20  awareness course approved by the court>.  If the defendant is
   1-21  younger than 18 years of age, the court may require the parent or
   1-22  guardian of the defendant to <may> attend the course with the
   1-23  defendant.  <The court shall require the defendant to present
   1-24  evidence to the court, in the manner prescribed by the court, of
   1-25  satisfactory participation in and completion of the course.>
   1-26        (b)  <If the conviction under Section 106.02, 106.04, or
   1-27  106.05 of this code is for a second or subsequent offense, the
   1-28  court shall require the defendant to participate in an alcohol
   1-29  awareness course in addition to paying the fine assessed under that
   1-30  section.  If the defendant is younger than 18 years of age, the
   1-31  parent or guardian of the defendant may attend the course with the
   1-32  defendant.>
   1-33        <(c)>  If the defendant resides in a rural or other area in
   1-34  which access to an alcohol awareness course is not readily
   1-35  available, the court shall <may> require the defendant to perform
   1-36  eight to 12 hours of community service instead of participating in
   1-37  an alcohol awareness course.
   1-38        (c) <(d)>  When requested, an alcohol awareness course may be
   1-39  taught in languages other than English.
   1-40        (d)  The <(e)  If the court orders a defendant to attend an
   1-41  alcohol awareness course or to perform community service, the>
   1-42  court shall require the defendant to present to the court, within
   1-43  90 days of the date of final conviction, evidence in the form
   1-44  prescribed by the court that the defendant, as ordered by the
   1-45  court, has satisfactorily completed an alcohol awareness course or
   1-46  performed the required hours of community service.  If the
   1-47  defendant presents the required evidence within the prescribed
   1-48  period, the court may reduce the assessed fine to an amount equal
   1-49  to no less than one-half of the amount of the initial fine.
   1-50        (e)  If the defendant does not present the required evidence
   1-51  within the prescribed period, the court shall order the Department
   1-52  of Public Safety to suspend the defendant's driver's license or
   1-53  permit for a period not to exceed six months or, if the defendant
   1-54  does not have a license or permit, to deny the issuance of a
   1-55  license or permit to the defendant for that period.
   1-56        (f)  The Department of Public Safety shall send notice of the
   1-57  suspension or prohibition order issued under Subsection (e) by
   1-58  certified mail, return receipt requested, to the defendant.  The
   1-59  notice must include the date of the suspension or prohibition
   1-60  order, the reason for the suspension or prohibition, and the period
   1-61  covered by the suspension or prohibition.
   1-62        SECTION 2.  Section 24(h), Chapter 173, Acts of the 47th
   1-63  Legislature, Regular Session, 1941 (Article 6687b, Vernon's Texas
   1-64  Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
   1-65        (h)  The Department shall suspend the license of a person on
   1-66  receiving an order from a juvenile court under Section 54.042,
   1-67  Family Code, or from a court under Section 106.115, Alcoholic
   1-68  Beverage Code, to suspend that person's license.  The period of the
    2-1  suspension shall be for the period specified in the order.
    2-2        SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
    2-3  only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
    2-4  Act.  For purposes of this section an offense is committed before
    2-5  the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
    2-6  before that date.
    2-7        (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
    2-8  Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
    2-9  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   2-10        SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-11        SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-12  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-13  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-14  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-15  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   2-16                               * * * * *