1-1     By:  Gutierrez, Flores, Solis                         H.B. No. 1048

 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)

 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 1997;

 1-4     May 13, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-5     Affairs; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-6     Yeas 12, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-8                                   AN ACT

 1-9     relating to the civil and criminal consequences of a conviction for

1-10     certain offenses involving a fictitious motor vehicle license

1-11     plate, registration insignia, or safety inspection certificate.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Section 502.409, Transportation Code, is amended

1-14     by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as

1-15     follows:

1-16           (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (f), an [An] offense

1-17     under Subsection (a) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not

1-18     more than $200, unless it is shown at the trial of the offense that

1-19     the owner knowingly altered or made illegible the letters, numbers,

1-20     and other identification marks, in which case the offense is a

1-21     Class B misdemeanor.

1-22           (f)  An offense under Subsection (a)(4) is a Class B

1-23     misdemeanor.

1-24           SECTION 2.  Section 548.603, Transportation Code, is amended

1-25     by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

1-26           (f)  Notwithstanding Subsection (c), an offense under

1-27     Subsection (a)(1) that involves a fictitious inspection certificate

1-28     is a Class B misdemeanor.

1-29           SECTION 3.  Section 521.343(a), Transportation Code, is

1-30     amended to read as follows:

1-31           (a)  Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b), 521.344(a),

1-32     (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i), 521.345, [and] 521.346, and

1-33     521.3465, a suspension under this subchapter is for one year.

1-34           SECTION 4.  Subchapter O, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,

1-35     is amended by adding Sections 521.3465 and 521.3466 to read as

1-36     follows:

1-37           Sec. 521.3465.  AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION ON CONVICTION OF CERTAIN

1-38     OFFENSES INVOLVING FICTITIOUS MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES,

1-39     REGISTRATION INSIGNIA, OR SAFETY INSPECTION CERTIFICATES.  (a)  A

1-40     license is automatically suspended on final conviction of the

1-41     license holder of:

1-42                 (1)  an offense under Section 502.409(a)(4); or

1-43                 (2)  an offense under Section 548.603(a)(1) that

1-44     involves a fictitious safety inspection certificate.

1-45           (b)  A suspension under this section is for 180 days.

1-46           (c)  If the person is a resident of this state without a

1-47     driver's license to operate a motor vehicle, the director shall

1-48     issue an order prohibiting the person from being issued a driver's

1-49     license before the 181st day after the date of the conviction.

1-50           Sec. 521.3466.  AUTOMATIC REVOCATION FOR OFFENSE INVOLVING

1-51     CERTAIN FRAUDULENT GOVERNMENTAL RECORDS.  (a)  A license is

1-52     automatically revoked on final conviction of the license holder of

1-53     an offense under Section 37.10, Penal Code, if the governmental

1-54     record was a motor vehicle license plate or registration insignia,

1-55     within the meaning of Chapter 502, or a safety inspection

1-56     certificate, within the meaning of Chapter 548.

1-57           (b)  If the person is a resident of this state without a

1-58     driver's license to operate a motor vehicle, the director shall

1-59     issue an order prohibiting the person from being issued a driver's

1-60     license until the second anniversary of the date of the conviction.

1-61           (c)  Section 521.347 applies to a conviction under Section

1-62     37.10, Penal Code, in the same manner that section applies to a

1-63     conviction of an offense that requires automatic suspension of  a

1-64     person's driver's license.

 2-1           (d)  The department may not issue a driver's license to the

 2-2     person before the second anniversary of the date of the conviction.

 2-3     The department may issue a driver's license to the person only if

 2-4     the person:

 2-5                 (1)  applies to the department for the license;

 2-6                 (2)  is otherwise qualified for the license; and

 2-7                 (3)  pays, in addition to the fee required by Section

 2-8     521.421, a fee of $100.

 2-9           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

2-10     changes in law made by this Act apply only to an offense committed

2-11     on or after September 1, 1997.  An offense committed before

2-12     September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect when the offense

2-13     was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

2-14     purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed

2-15     before September 1, 1997, if any element of the offense occurred

2-16     before that date.

2-17           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-18     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-19     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-20     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-21     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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