By Goolsby                                      H.B. No. 2625

      75R6978 DRH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to denial of the renewal of a driver's license for failure

 1-3     to pay parking tickets.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Article 6687d, Revised Statutes, is amended by

 1-6     adding Section 2A to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 2A.  MUNICIPAL PARKING FINES.  (a)  A municipality may

 1-8     contract with the department to provide information necessary for

 1-9     the department to deny renewal of the driver's license of a person

1-10     who has an unpaid fine for a violation of a municipal ordinance

1-11     regulating the parking or stopping of a vehicle.

1-12           (b)  A violation of an ordinance under this section may be

1-13     reported to the department only if the fine is past due and the

1-14     person has failed to make a timely appearance in court to challenge

1-15     the imposition of the fine.

1-16           (c)  A contract under this section must be made in accordance

1-17     with Chapter 791, Government Code.  A contract under this section

1-18     is subject to the ability of the parties to provide or pay for the

1-19     services required under the contract.

1-20           (d)  If a contract is entered into under this section:

1-21                 (1)  the department may, on the receipt of the

1-22     necessary information, deny the renewal of a driver's license in

1-23     the same manner as for a contract under Section 2 of this article;

1-24     and

 2-1                 (2)  the municipality shall perform its duties in the

 2-2     same manner as for a contract under Section 2 of this article.

 2-3           (e)  If a municipality enters into a contract under this

 2-4     section, a citation for a violation of a municipal ordinance

 2-5     regulating the parking or stopping of a vehicle must include a

 2-6     warning as required by Section 3(a) of this article.  The warning

 2-7     must state in substance that if the person fails to pay a fine

 2-8     associated with the violation, the person may be denied renewal of

 2-9     the person's driver's license.

2-10           (f)  The municipality shall notify the department that there

2-11     is no cause to continue to deny renewal of a person's driver's

2-12     license based on a violation of a municipal ordinance regulating

2-13     the parking or stopping of a vehicle if:

2-14                 (1)  the person pays a fee in the amount provided by

2-15     Section 4(c) of this article; and

2-16                 (2)  an event stated under Section 4(b) of this article

2-17     that is applicable to a violation of a municipal ordinance occurs.

2-18           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only

2-19     to the violation of a municipal ordinance regulating parking or the

2-20     stopping of a vehicle that occurs on or after the effective date of

2-21     this Act.  For purposes of this section, a violation is committed

2-22     before the effective date of this Act if any element of the

2-23     violation occurs before that date.

2-24           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-25           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.