By McCall                                               H.B. No. 43

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to certain punishments as a result of driving while a

 1-3     driver's license is suspended or revoked.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

 1-6     amended by adding Article 42.038 to read as follows:

 1-7           Art. 42.038.  PERSON CONVICTED OF DRIVING WHILE DRIVER'S

 1-8     LICENSE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED: IMPOUNDMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLE.

 1-9     (a)  In addition to any other punishment under Section 521.021 or

1-10     521.457, Transportation Code, if it is shown on the trial of the

1-11     offense that in this or another state the defendant has previously

1-12     been convicted two times of the offense of operating a motor

1-13     vehicle while the person's driver's license is suspended or

1-14     revoked, the court shall order the impoundment of the motor vehicle

1-15     being operated by the defendant at the time of the offense, if at

1-16     the time of the offense the defendant was an owner, or was the

1-17     spouse, child, or parent of an owner, of the vehicle and the

1-18     defendant, or the defendant's spouse, child, or parent, is an owner

1-19     of the vehicle on the date of conviction.

1-20           (b)  The duration of an impoundment under Subsection (a) of

1-21     this article is 30 days.  The court shall issue an order to the

1-22     sheriff of the county in which the court has jurisdiction to

1-23     impound the vehicle that is the subject of an order of impoundment.

1-24     The court shall impose a reasonable fee against the defendant to

 2-1     cover the costs associated with the impoundment of the vehicle.

 2-2           (c)  An owner whose motor vehicle is impounded under

 2-3     Subsection (a) of this article must, to transfer title to the motor

 2-4     vehicle, apply for permission to the court that ordered the

 2-5     impoundment.  If the court finds that the transfer would be in good

 2-6     faith and not to circumvent Subsections (a) and (b) of this

 2-7     article, the court shall approve the transfer.  If, while the motor

 2-8     vehicle is impounded, title to the motor vehicle is transferred by

 2-9     foreclosure, sale on execution, cancellation of a conditional sales

2-10     contract, or judicial order, the court shall order release of the

2-11     vehicle.

2-12           (d)  On presentation to the sheriff who impounded the motor

2-13     vehicle of an order of release from the court and payment of the

2-14     cost of impoundment by the defendant or a person authorized by the

2-15     owner, the sheriff shall release the vehicle.  A secured creditor

2-16     may obtain the release of a motor vehicle from impoundment on

2-17     presentation to the sheriff of a certificate of title with notation

2-18     of the secured creditor's lien and an accompanying affidavit from

2-19     an officer of the secured creditor establishing that the loan

2-20     secured by the motor vehicle is in default or has matured.

2-21           (e)  A previous conviction may not be used under Subsection

2-22     (a) of this article if the offense was committed more than 10 years

2-23     before the date that the offense for which the person is being

2-24     tried was committed.

2-25           SECTION 2.  Sections 601.371(d) and (e), Transportation Code,

2-26     are amended to read as follows:

2-27           (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under

 3-1     this section is a Class C misdemeanor [punishable by:]

 3-2                 [(1)  a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500;

 3-3     and]

 3-4                 [(2)  confinement in county jail for a term of not less

 3-5     than 72 hours or more than six months].

 3-6           (e)  If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this

 3-7     section that the person has previously been convicted of an offense

 3-8     under this section or under Section 521.457, the offense is

 3-9     punishable as a Class B [A] misdemeanor.

3-10           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

3-11     changes in law made by this Act apply only to the civil

3-12     consequences of a subsequent offense committed on or after that

3-13     date.  An offense committed before the effective date of this Act

3-14     is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and

3-15     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For

3-16     purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

3-17     effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

3-18     before that date.

3-19           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.