By Hilbert H.B. No. 3615
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the criminal consequences of the refusal to consent to
1-3 the taking of a blood or breath specimen by a person who as the
1-4 operator of a motor vehicle or watercraft is involved in a serious
1-5 accident and is subsequently arrested for operating a motor vehicle
1-6 or watercraft while intoxicated.
1-7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-8 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 724, Transportation Code,
1-9 is amended by adding Section 724.0135 to read as follows:
1-10 Sec. 724.0135. REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TAKING OF SPECIMEN;
1-11 PENALTY. (a) This section applies only to a person who:
1-12 (1) as the operator of motor vehicle or watercraft is
1-13 involved in a motor vehicle or watercraft accident resulting in the
1-14 serious bodily injury or death of a person; and
1-15 (2) is subsequently arrested for an offense specified
1-16 by Section 724.011 in connection with the accident.
1-17 (b) A person who refuses to submit to the taking of a
1-18 specimen designated by a peace officer under Section 724.012
1-19 commits an offense.
1-20 (c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
1-21 (d) The prosecution or conviction of a person under this
2-1 section:
2-2 (1) is independent of and not an estoppel as to any
2-3 matter in issue in an administrative proceeding under this code
2-4 arising from the occurrence that is the basis for the prosecution
2-5 or conviction; and
2-6 (2) does not preclude litigation of the same or
2-7 similar facts in the administrative proceeding.
2-8 SECTION 2. Section 724.015, Transportation Code, is amended
2-9 to read as follows:
2-10 Sec. 724.015. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY OFFICER BEFORE
2-11 REQUESTING SPECIMEN. Before requesting a person to submit to the
2-12 taking of a specimen, the officer shall inform the person orally
2-13 and in writing that:
2-14 (1) if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
2-15 the specimen, that refusal may be admissible in a subsequent
2-16 prosecution;
2-17 (2) if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
2-18 the specimen, the person's license to operate a motor vehicle will
2-19 be automatically suspended, whether or not the person is
2-20 subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest, for:
2-21 (A) not less than 90 days if the person is 21
2-22 years of age or older; or
2-23 (B) not less than 120 days if the person is
2-24 younger than 21 years of age;
2-25 (3) if the person is 21 years of age or older and
3-1 submits to the taking of a specimen designated by the officer and
3-2 an analysis of the specimen shows the person had an alcohol
3-3 concentration of a level specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the
3-4 person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
3-5 suspended for not less than 60 days, whether or not the person is
3-6 subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest;
3-7 (4) if the person is younger than 21 years of age and
3-8 has any detectable amount of alcohol in the person's system, the
3-9 person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
3-10 suspended for not less than 60 days even if the person submits to
3-11 the taking of the specimen, but that if the person submits to the
3-12 taking of the specimen and an analysis of the specimen shows that
3-13 the person had an alcohol concentration less than the level
3-14 specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the person may be subject to
3-15 criminal penalties less severe than those provided under that
3-16 chapter;
3-17 (5) if the officer determines that the person is a
3-18 resident without a license to operate a motor vehicle in this
3-19 state, the department will deny to the person the issuance of a
3-20 license, whether or not the person is subsequently prosecuted as a
3-21 result of the arrest, under the same conditions and for the same
3-22 periods that would have applied to a revocation of the person's
3-23 driver's license if the person had held a driver's license issued
3-24 by this state; [and]
3-25 (6) the person has a right to a hearing on the
4-1 suspension or denial if, not later than the 15th day after the date
4-2 on which the person receives the notice of suspension or denial or
4-3 on which the person is considered to have received the notice by
4-4 mail as provided by law, the department receives, at its
4-5 headquarters in Austin, a written demand, including a facsimile
4-6 transmission, or a request in another form prescribed by the
4-7 department for the hearing; and
4-8 (7) if the person, as the operator of a motor vehicle
4-9 or watercraft was involved in a motor vehicle or watercraft
4-10 accident resulting in the serious bodily injury or death of any
4-11 person, that refusal to submit to the taking of the specimen is a
4-12 Class B misdemeanor.
4-13 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-14 (b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a
4-15 person arrested for an offense described by Section 724.011,
4-16 Transportation Code, on or after September 1, 1999.
4-17 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.