1-1 By: Dunnam (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister) H.B. No. 3492 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 1999; 1-3 May 6, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal 1-4 Justice; May 14, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee 1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, 1-6 sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3492 By: Armbrister 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to the requirement that the motor vehicle of a person 1-11 convicted of certain offenses involving the operation of a motor 1-12 vehicle while intoxicated be equipped with an ignition interlock 1-13 device and that the Department of Public Safety establish minimum 1-14 standards for vendors of ignition interlock devices. 1-15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-16 SECTION 1. Section 521.246, Transportation Code, is amended 1-17 by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows: 1-18 (f) A previous conviction may not be used for purposes of 1-19 restricting a person to the operation of a motor vehicle equipped 1-20 with an interlock ignition device under this section if: 1-21 (1) the previous conviction was a final conviction 1-22 under Section 49.04, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, and was for an 1-23 offense committed more than 10 years before the instant offense for 1-24 which the person was convicted; and 1-25 (2) the person has not been convicted of an offense 1-26 under Section 49.04, 49.07, or 49.08 of that code committed within 1-27 10 years before the date on which the instant offense for which the 1-28 person was convicted. 1-29 SECTION 2. Subchapter L, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, 1-30 is amended by adding Section 521.2476 to read as follows: 1-31 Sec. 521.2476. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR VENDORS OF IGNITION 1-32 INTERLOCK DEVICES. (a) The department by rule shall establish: 1-33 (1) minimum standards for vendors of ignition 1-34 interlock devices who conduct business in this state; and 1-35 (2) procedures to ensure compliance with those 1-36 standards, including procedures for the inspection of a vendor's 1-37 facilities. 1-38 (b) The minimum standards shall require each vendor to: 1-39 (1) be authorized by the department to do business in 1-40 this state; 1-41 (2) install a device only if the device is approved 1-42 under Section 521.247; 1-43 (3) obtain liability insurance providing coverage for 1-44 damages arising out of the operation or use of devices in amounts 1-45 and under the terms specified by the department; 1-46 (4) install the device and activate any 1-47 anticircumvention feature of the device within a reasonable time 1-48 after the vendor receives notice that installation is ordered by a 1-49 court; 1-50 (5) install and inspect the device in accordance with 1-51 any applicable court order; 1-52 (6) repair or replace a device not later than 48 hours 1-53 after receiving notice of a complaint regarding the operation of 1-54 the device; 1-55 (7) submit a written report of any violation of a 1-56 court order to that court and to the person's supervising officer, 1-57 if any, not later than 48 hours after the vendor discovers the 1-58 violation; 1-59 (8) maintain a record of each action taken by the 1-60 vendor with respect to each device installed by the vendor, 1-61 including each action taken as a result of an attempt to circumvent 1-62 the device, until at least the fifth anniversary after the date of 1-63 installation; 1-64 (9) make a copy of the record available for inspection 2-1 by or send a copy of the record to any court, supervising officer, 2-2 or the department on request; and 2-3 (10) annually provide to the department a written 2-4 report of each service and ignition interlock device feature made 2-5 available by the vendor. 2-6 (c) The department may revoke the department's authorization 2-7 for a vendor to do business in this state if the vendor or an 2-8 officer or employee of the vendor violates: 2-9 (1) any law of this state that applies to the vendor; 2-10 or 2-11 (2) any rule adopted by the department under this 2-12 section or another law that applies to the vendor. 2-13 (d) A vendor shall reimburse the department for the 2-14 reasonable cost of conducting each inspection of the vendor's 2-15 facilities under this section. 2-16 (e) In this section, "offense relating to the operating of a 2-17 motor vehicle while intoxicated" has the meaning assigned by 2-18 Section 49.09, Penal Code. 2-19 SECTION 3. Section 13(i), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal 2-20 Procedure, is amended to read as follows: 2-21 (i) If a person convicted of an offense under Sections 2-22 49.04-49.08, Penal Code, is placed on community supervision, the 2-23 court may require as a condition of community supervision that the 2-24 defendant have a device installed, on the motor vehicle owned by 2-25 the defendant or on the vehicle most regularly driven by the 2-26 defendant, that uses a deep-lung breath analysis mechanism to make 2-27 impractical the operation of the motor vehicle if ethyl alcohol is 2-28 detected in the breath of the operator and that the defendant not 2-29 operate any motor vehicle that is not equipped with that device. 2-30 If the person is convicted of an offense under Sections 2-31 49.04-49.06, Penal Code, and punished under Section 49.09(a) or 2-32 (b), Penal Code, or of a second or subsequent offense under Section 2-33 49.07 or 49.08, Penal Code, and the person after conviction of 2-34 either offense is placed on community supervision, the court shall 2-35 require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant 2-36 have the device installed on the appropriate vehicle and that the 2-37 defendant not operate any motor vehicle unless the vehicle is 2-38 equipped with that device. Before placing on community supervision 2-39 a person convicted of an offense under Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal 2-40 Code, the court shall determine from criminal history record 2-41 information maintained by the Department of Public Safety whether 2-42 the person has one or more previous convictions under Sections 2-43 49.04-49.08, Penal Code, or has one previous conviction under 2-44 Sections 49.04-49.07, Penal Code, or one previous conviction under 2-45 Section 49.08, Penal Code. If the court determines that the person 2-46 has one or more such previous convictions, the court shall require 2-47 as a condition of community supervision that the defendant have 2-48 that device installed on the motor vehicle owned by the defendant 2-49 or on the vehicle most regularly driven by the defendant and that 2-50 the defendant not operate any motor vehicle unless the vehicle is 2-51 equipped with the device described in this subsection. The court 2-52 shall require the defendant to obtain the device at the defendant's 2-53 own cost before the 30th day after the date of conviction unless 2-54 the court finds that to do so would not be in the best interest of 2-55 justice and enters its findings on record. The court shall require 2-56 the defendant to provide evidence to the court within the 30-day 2-57 period that the device has been installed on the appropriate 2-58 vehicle and order the device to remain installed on that vehicle 2-59 for a period not less than 50 percent of the supervision period. 2-60 If the court determines the offender is unable to pay for the 2-61 device, the court may impose a reasonable payment schedule not to 2-62 exceed twice the period of the court's order. The Department of 2-63 Public Safety shall approve devices for use under this subsection. 2-64 The provisions of Section 23A(f), Chapter 173, Acts of the 47th 2-65 Legislature, Regular Session, 1941 (Article 6687b, Vernon's Texas 2-66 Civil Statutes), apply to the approval of a device under this 2-67 subsection and the consequences of that approval. Notwithstanding 2-68 the provisions of this section, if a person is required to operate 2-69 a motor vehicle in the course and scope of the person's employment 3-1 and if the vehicle is owned by the employer, the person may operate 3-2 that vehicle without installation of an approved ignition interlock 3-3 device if the employer has been notified of that driving privilege 3-4 restriction and if proof of that notification is with the vehicle. 3-5 This employment exemption does not apply, however, if the business 3-6 entity that owns the vehicle is owned or controlled by the person 3-7 whose driving privilege has been restricted. A previous conviction 3-8 may not be used for purposes of restricting a person to the 3-9 operation of a motor vehicle equipped with an interlock ignition 3-10 device under this subsection if: 3-11 (1) the previous conviction was a final conviction 3-12 under Section 49.04, 49.05, 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, and 3-13 was for an offense committed more than 10 years before the instant 3-14 offense for which the person was convicted and placed on community 3-15 supervision; and 3-16 (2) the person has not been convicted of an offense 3-17 under Section 49.04, 49.05, 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08 of that code, 3-18 committed within 10 years before the date on which the instant 3-19 offense for which the person was convicted and placed on community 3-20 supervision. 3-21 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. The 3-22 changes in law to Section 521.246, Transportation Code, and Section 3-23 13(i), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to a 3-24 person convicted of an offense specified by those laws committed on 3-25 or after September 1, 1999. A person convicted of an offense 3-26 specified by those laws committed before September 1, 1999, is 3-27 covered by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, 3-28 and the former laws are continued in effect for those purposes. 3-29 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the 3-30 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-31 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-32 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-33 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 3-34 * * * * *