By Talton                                       H.B. No. 3331

      75R7806 DWS-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to a driving safety course in connection with certain

 1-3     offenses.

 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, 550.024,

1-15     or 550.025 or a serious traffic violation as defined by Section

1-16     522.003.

1-17           SECTION 2.  (a)  In addition to the substantive changes in

1-18     law made by this Act, this Act conforms the Transportation Code to

1-19     changes in law made by Section 1, Chapter 334, Acts of the 74th

1-20     Legislature, Regular Session, 1995.

1-21           (b)  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over

1-22     another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,

1-23     relating to nonsubstantive additions and corrections in enacted

1-24     codes.

 2-1           SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

 2-2     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

 2-3     Act.  For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed

 2-4     before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense

 2-5     occurs before that date.

 2-6           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

 2-7     Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was

 2-8     committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

 2-9     purpose.

2-10           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-11           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-12     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-13     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-14     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-15     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.