HBA-SEP C.S.H.B. 1618 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1618
By: Allen
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/12/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the $100 fee for reinstatement of a person's suspended driver's
license under an administrative license revocation proceeding is
appropriated to the Department of Public Safety (DPS).  Subsequently, DPS
uses a portion of the reinstatement funds to contract with the State Office
of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to conduct hearings.  This puts DPS in
the position of collecting and holding fees procured from individuals who
the agency is charging under revocation proceedings then using those funds
to contract with SOAH to hear the case.  C.S.H.B. 1618 removes the
necessity of the contract by increasing the fee to $125 and authorizing $25
of the fee to be directly appropriated to the SOAH.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B.1618 amends the Transportation Code to increase, from $100 to $125,
the fee that accompanies the reinstatement of a driver's license or the
issuance of another driver's license to a  person whose driver's license
was suspended for failing to pass a test for intoxication or refusing to
consent to the taking of a specimen.  The bill authorizes $25 of these fees
to be appropriated only to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 1618 modifies the original to remove the condition that the
specified portion of the collected fee that is appropriated only to the
State Office of Administrative Hearings be used to cover the costs of
hearings relating to the suspension of a driver's license for failing to
pass a test for intoxication and refusing to consent to the taking of a
specimen.