By Uher                                         H.B. No. 1946

      75R6603 JD-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the eligibility of a person for the mandatory deferral

 1-3     of a speeding offense.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 543.102, Transportation Code, is amended

 1-6     to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 543.102.  NOTICE OF RIGHT TO COMPLETE COURSE.  The court

 1-8     shall advise a person charged with a misdemeanor under this

 1-9     subtitle, committed while operating a motor vehicle, of the

1-10     person's right to successfully complete a driving safety course or,

1-11     if the offense was committed while operating a motorcycle, a

1-12     motorcycle operator training course.  The right to complete a

1-13     course does not apply to a person charged with a violation of

1-14     Section 545.066, 545.401, 545.421, 550.022, or 550.023, [or] a

1-15     serious traffic violation as defined by Section 522.003, or a

1-16     speeding offense, if the speed at which the person is alleged to

1-17     have driven is 80 miles per hour or faster.

1-18           SECTION 2.  (a)  In addition to the substantive changes in

1-19     law made by this Act, this Act amends Section 543.102,

1-20     Transportation Code, to conform to the change in the law made by

1-21     Section 1, Chapter 334, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular

1-22     Session, 1995, relating to a person's right to complete a

1-23     motorcycle operator training course.

1-24           (b)  Section 1, Chapter 334, Acts of the 74th Legislature,

 2-1     Regular Session, 1995, is repealed.

 2-2           (c)  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over

 2-3     another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,

 2-4     relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

 2-5     codes.

 2-6           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

 2-7     change in law made by this Act applies only to a person's

 2-8     eligibility to complete a driving safety course for a speeding

 2-9     offense committed on or after September 1, 1997.  A person's

2-10     eligibility to complete a driving safety course for a speeding

2-11     offense committed before September 1, 1997, is covered by the law

2-12     in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is

2-13     continued in effect for that purpose.

2-14           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-15     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-16     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-17     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-18     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.