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 * * * * *