HBA-JEK C.S.H.B. 2495 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2495
By: Haggerty
Business & Industry
4/1/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a valet parking service is not required to have
liability insurance.  A person who sustains injury or whose property is
damaged by an employee of a valet service that does not have liability
insurance must either pay for the damages out of pocket or have their
insurance cover the costs, which may lead to higher insurance premiums.
C.S.H.B. 2495 requires a valet parking service to assume financial
responsibility for each employee who operates a motor vehicle for the
service. 

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. 2495 amends the Transportation Code to prohibit a person from
operating a valet parking service unless financial responsibility for each
employee who operates a motor vehicle for the service is established
through a surety bond, a deposit with the comptroller in the amount of
$450,000, or a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that meets
specified minimum coverage amounts. 

The bill establishes offenses and fines to punish a person who violates
these requirements, and provides that it is not a defense in an action to
recover damages against an owner or operator of a valet parking service
that has not established financial responsibility that the party who brings
the action was guilty of contributory negligence, or assumed the risk of
injury, death, or property damage. 

C.S.H.B. 2495 requires the owner or operator of a valet parking service to
provide evidence of financial responsibility on request by a peace officer
and to display for public inspection evidence of financial responsibility
at a public accommodation whose patrons use the service. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2495 modifies the definition of valet parking service to include
the provision that the third party who is parking the vehicles of patrons
of a public accommodation is not an employee of the public accommodation.