By McCall                                               H.B. No. 43

      75R197 JD-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the impoundment of the motor vehicles of certain

 1-3     persons convicted of the offense of driving without a driver's

 1-4     license or while a driver's license is suspended or revoked.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

 1-7     amended by adding Article 42.038 to read as follows:

 1-8           Art. 42.038.  PERSON CONVICTED OF DRIVING WITHOUT DRIVER'S

 1-9     LICENSE OR WHILE DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED: IMPOUNDMENT

1-10     OF MOTOR VEHICLE.  (a)  In addition to any other punishment under

1-11     Section 521.021 or 521.457, Transportation Code, if it is shown on

1-12     the trial of the offense that in this or another state the

1-13     defendant has previously been convicted two times of the offense of

1-14     operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license or the offense

1-15     of operating a motor vehicle while the person's driver's license is

1-16     suspended or revoked, the court shall order the impoundment of the

1-17     motor vehicle being operated by the defendant at the time of the

1-18     offense, if at the time of the offense the defendant was an owner,

1-19     or was the spouse, child, or parent of an owner, of the vehicle and

1-20     the defendant, or the defendant's spouse, child, or parent, is an

1-21     owner of the vehicle on the date of conviction.

1-22           (b)  The duration of an impoundment under Subsection (a) of

1-23     this article is 30 days.  The court shall issue an order to the

1-24     sheriff of the county in which the court has jurisdiction to

 2-1     impound the vehicle that is the subject of an order of impoundment.

 2-2     The court shall impose a cost of $15 a day against the defendant

 2-3     for the impoundment of the vehicle.

 2-4           (c)  An owner whose motor vehicle is impounded under

 2-5     Subsection (a) of this article must, to transfer title to the motor

 2-6     vehicle, apply for permission to the court that ordered the

 2-7     impoundment.  If the court finds that the transfer would be in good

 2-8     faith and not to circumvent Subsections (a) and (b) of this

 2-9     article, the court shall approve the transfer.  If, while the motor

2-10     vehicle is impounded, title to the motor vehicle is transferred by

2-11     foreclosure, sale on execution, cancellation of a conditional sales

2-12     contract, or judicial order, the court shall order release of the

2-13     vehicle.

2-14           (d)  On presentation to the sheriff who impounded the motor

2-15     vehicle of an order of release from the court and payment of the

2-16     cost of impoundment by the defendant or a person authorized by the

2-17     owner, the sheriff shall release the vehicle.  A secured creditor

2-18     may obtain the release of a motor vehicle from impoundment on

2-19     presentation to the sheriff of a certificate of title with notation

2-20     of the secured creditor's lien and an accompanying affidavit from

2-21     an officer of the secured creditor establishing that the loan

2-22     secured by the motor vehicle is in default or has matured.

2-23           (e)  A previous conviction may not be used under Subsection

2-24     (a) of this article if the offense was committed more than 10 years

2-25     before the date that the offense for which the person is being

2-26     tried was committed.

2-27           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

 3-1     changes in law made by this Act apply only to the civil

 3-2     consequences of a subsequent offense committed on or after that

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

 3-4     is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and

 3-5     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For

 3-6     purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

 3-7     effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

 3-8     before that date.

 3-9           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.