1-1 By: Haggerty (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister) H.B. No. 2495 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 19, 2001; 1-3 April 20, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Business and Commerce; May 10, 2001, reported favorably by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 10, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to requiring a valet parking service to maintain financial 1-9 responsibility; creating an offense. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 7, Transportation Code, is 1-12 amended by adding Chapter 686 to read as follows: 1-13 CHAPTER 686. VALET PARKING SERVICES 1-14 Sec. 686.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-15 (1) "Financial responsibility" means the ability to 1-16 respond in damages for liability for an accident that: 1-17 (A) occurs after the effective date of the 1-18 document evidencing the establishment of the financial 1-19 responsibility; and 1-20 (B) arises out of the operation of a motor 1-21 vehicle by an employee of a valet parking service. 1-22 (2) "Public accommodation" means any: 1-23 (A) inn, hotel, or motel; 1-24 (B) restaurant, cafeteria, or other facility 1-25 principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the 1-26 premises; 1-27 (C) bar, nightclub, or other facility engaged in 1-28 selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises; 1-29 (D) motion picture house, theater, concert hall, 1-30 stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment; or 1-31 (E) other facility used by or open to members of 1-32 the public. 1-33 (3) "Valet parking service" means a parking service 1-34 through which the motor vehicles of patrons of a public 1-35 accommodation are parked for a fee by a third party who is not an 1-36 employee of the public accommodation. 1-37 Sec. 686.002. REQUIREMENT OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR 1-38 VALET PARKING SERVICES. A person may not operate a valet parking 1-39 service unless financial responsibility for each employee who 1-40 operates a motor vehicle for the service is established through: 1-41 (1) a motor vehicle liability or comprehensive general 1-42 liability and garage insurance policy in an amount established by 1-43 Section 686.004; 1-44 (2) a surety bond filed under Section 601.121; or 1-45 (3) a deposit in the amount of $450,000 under Section 1-46 601.122, notwithstanding any other amount prescribed by that 1-47 section. 1-48 Sec. 686.003. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) The 1-49 owner or operator of a valet parking service shall provide evidence 1-50 of financial responsibility in the same manner as required under 1-51 Section 601.053. 1-52 (b) In addition to complying with Subsection (a), an owner 1-53 or operator of a valet parking service shall exhibit, for public 1-54 inspection, evidence of financial responsibility at a public 1-55 accommodation whose patrons use the service. 1-56 Sec. 686.004. MINIMUM COVERAGE AMOUNTS. (a) The minimum 1-57 amounts of motor vehicle liability insurance coverage required to 1-58 establish financial responsibility under this chapter are: 1-59 (1) $100,000 for bodily injury to or death of one 1-60 person in one accident; 1-61 (2) $300,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or 1-62 more persons in one accident, subject to the amount provided by 1-63 Subdivision (1) for bodily injury to or death of one of the 1-64 persons; and 2-1 (3) $50,000 for damage to or destruction of property 2-2 of others in one accident. 2-3 (b) The comprehensive general liability insurance must be on 2-4 a broad form and provide limits of liability for bodily injury and 2-5 property damage of not less than $300,000 combined single limit, or 2-6 the equivalent. 2-7 (c) The garage insurance must provide limits of liability 2-8 for bodily injury and property damage of not less than $300,000 2-9 combined single limit, or the equivalent, and must provide the 2-10 following coverages: 2-11 (1) comprehensive and collision coverage for physical 2-12 damage; 2-13 (2) coverage for vehicle storage; and 2-14 (3) coverage for a vehicle driven by or at the 2-15 direction of the valet parking service. 2-16 Sec. 686.005. COMMON LAW DEFENSES. In an action against an 2-17 owner or operator of a valet parking service that has not 2-18 established financial responsibility as required by this chapter to 2-19 recover damages for personal injuries, death, or property damage 2-20 sustained in a motor vehicle accident arising out of the operation 2-21 of a valet parking service, it is not a defense that the party who 2-22 brings the action: 2-23 (1) was guilty of contributory negligence; or 2-24 (2) assumed the risk of injury, death, or property 2-25 damage. 2-26 Sec. 686.006. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF 2-27 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT; OFFENSE. (a) A person 2-28 commits an offense if the person, while in the course and scope of 2-29 the person's employment with a valet parking service, operates a 2-30 motor vehicle of a patron of the service without the financial 2-31 responsibility required by this chapter. 2-32 (b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), an 2-33 offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of 2-34 not less than $175 or more than $350. 2-35 (c) If a person has been previously convicted of an offense 2-36 under this section, an offense under this section is a misdemeanor 2-37 punishable by a fine of not less than $350 or more than $1,000. 2-38 (d) If the court determines that a person who has not been 2-39 previously convicted of an offense under this section is 2-40 economically unable to pay the fine, the court may reduce the fine 2-41 to not less than $175. 2-42 Sec. 686.007. DEFENSE: FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN EFFECT 2-43 AT TIME OF ALLEGED OFFENSE. It is a defense to prosecution under 2-44 Section 686.002 that the person charged produces one of the 2-45 documents listed in Section 601.053 that was valid at the time the 2-46 offense is alleged to have occurred. 2-47 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. 2-48 * * * * *