By Uher                                               H.B. No. 1064
         77R5013 JD-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the issuance of an occupational driver's license and
 1-3     the subsequent operation of a motor vehicle while under the
 1-4     influence of alcohol or other substances by the license holder;
 1-5     providing penalties.
 1-6           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-7           SECTION 1. Section 521.248(a), Transportation Code, is
 1-8     amended to read as follows:
 1-9           (a)  An order granting an occupational license must specify:
1-10                 (1)  the [hours of the day and] days of the week during
1-11     which the person may operate a motor vehicle; and
1-12                 (2)  the reasons for which the person may operate a
1-13     motor vehicle[; and]
1-14                 [(3)  areas or routes of travel permitted].
1-15           SECTION 2. Subchapter L, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, is
1-16     amended by adding Section 521.254 to read as follows:
1-17           Sec. 521.254.  DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR
1-18     OTHER SUBSTANCE BY LICENSE HOLDER. (a)  A person who holds an
1-19     occupational license under this subchapter commits an offense if
1-20     the person operates a motor vehicle in a public place while having
1-21     any detectable amount of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a
1-22     dangerous drug in the person's system.
1-23           (b)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
1-24     punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000.
 2-1           (c)  Chapter 724 applies to a person arrested for an offense
 2-2     under Subsection (a) in the same manner that chapter applies to a
 2-3     person arrested for an offense under Section 49.04, Penal Code.
 2-4           (d)  A person who is arrested for an offense under this
 2-5     section, but who was not requested by the arresting officer to
 2-6     submit to the taking of a specimen of the person's breath or blood
 2-7     under Chapter 724, on request to the arresting officer within a
 2-8     reasonable time not to exceed two hours after the arrest, is
 2-9     entitled to:
2-10                 (1)  have a physician, qualified technician, chemist,
2-11     or registered professional nurse at the person's sole expense draw
2-12     a specimen and have an analysis made of the person's blood; or
2-13                 (2)  on payment of the required fee, provide a breath
2-14     specimen and have an analysis made of the person's breath.
2-15           (e)  A breath specimen taken at the request of the person
2-16     arrested must be taken and analyzed under rules of the department
2-17     by a person who holds a certificate issued by the department
2-18     certifying that the person is qualified to perform the analysis.
2-19           (f)  An analysis made under Subsection (d) is admissible on
2-20     the trial of the offense to prove the extent if any to which the
2-21     person was under the influence of alcohol or other substance at the
2-22     time of the arrest.  The refusal or inability of the arresting
2-23     officer to comply with a person's request under Subsection (d) is
2-24     admissible on the trial of the offense.
2-25           (g)  The department by rule shall prescribe the amount of the
2-26     required fee for an analysis of a person's breath requested under
2-27     Subsection (d)(2).  The fee may not exceed an amount that is equal
 3-1     to the average cost to the department in the preceding fiscal year
 3-2     of analyzing a breath specimen taken by the department under
 3-3     Chapter 724.
 3-4           (h)  On conviction of an offense under this section, the
 3-5     occupational license and the order granting that license are
 3-6     revoked.
 3-7           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.