By Patterson                                           S.B. No. 473
       74R4206 JD-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to required protective headgear for motorcycle operators
    1-3  and passengers.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 2, Chapter 329, Acts of the 60th
    1-6  Legislature, Regular Session, 1967 (Article 6701c-3, Vernon's Texas
    1-7  Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 2.  A <(a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
    1-9  section, a> person who is younger than 18 years of age may not
   1-10  operate a motorcycle on a public street or highway of this state
   1-11  unless the person <he> wears protective headgear that meets
   1-12  standards adopted by the Department of Public Safety, nor may any
   1-13  person carry a passenger who is younger than 18 years of age on a
   1-14  motorcycle on a public street or highway of this state unless the
   1-15  passenger wears protective headgear that meets standards adopted by
   1-16  the Department of Public Safety, nor may any person who is younger
   1-17  than 18 years of age ride as a passenger on a motorcycle on a
   1-18  public street or highway of this state unless the person <he> wears
   1-19  protective headgear that meets standards adopted by the Department
   1-20  of Public Safety.
   1-21        <(b)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) of
   1-22  this section that, at the time the offense was committed, the
   1-23  person required by Subsection (a) of this section to wear
   1-24  protective headgear:>
    2-1              <(1)  was 18 years of age or older; and>
    2-2              <(2)  presented to the arresting peace officer a
    2-3  medical exemption that conforms to the requirements of Subsections
    2-4  (c) and (d) of this section.>
    2-5        <(c)  A medical exemption may only be issued by a practicing
    2-6  physician licensed to practice medicine by the Texas State Board of
    2-7  Medical Examiners to a person who has sustained an acute head or
    2-8  facial injury that would be worsened if the person wore protective
    2-9  headgear.>
   2-10        <(d)  A medical exemption:>
   2-11              <(1)  must be on a form prescribed by the Department of
   2-12  Public Safety; and>
   2-13              <(2)  expires on the 10th day after the date it is
   2-14  issued.>
   2-15        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.  The
   2-16  change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
   2-17  on or after that date.  An offense committed before the effective
   2-18  date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense
   2-19  was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
   2-20  purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
   2-21  before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
   2-22  occurred before that date.
   2-23        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-24  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-25  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-26  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-27  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.