78R462 DLF-F

By:  Corte                                                        H.B. No. 19 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to liability for injury arising from a motor vehicle 
accident.     
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.   Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is 
amended by adding Chapter 92 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 92.  LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
	Sec. 92.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:                             
		(1)  "Exemplary damages" has the meaning assigned by 
Section 41.001. 
		(2)  "Noneconomic damages" means damages other than 
compensatory damages for pecuniary loss.  The term includes damages 
for physical pain and mental anguish, loss of consortium, 
disfigurement, physical impairment, or loss of companionship and 
society.  The term does not include exemplary damages.
	Sec. 92.002.  LIABILITY FOR INJURY TO CERTAIN OPERATORS. 
(a)  A person may not obtain noneconomic damages or exemplary 
damages in a civil action for bodily injury, death, or damage to or 
destruction of property arising out of a motor vehicle accident if:
		(1)  the person was:                                                   
			(A)  operating a motor vehicle, at the time of the 
accident, while intoxicated in violation of Section 49.04, Penal 
Code, or another law of this state relating to the operation of a 
motor vehicle while intoxicated; and
			(B)  convicted of an offense described by 
Paragraph (A); or         
		(2)  the person was knowingly operating the motor 
vehicle, at the time of the accident, in violation of Section 
601.051, Transportation Code.
	(b)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a person described by 
Subsection (a)(2) if the person was injured by another person who 
was:
		(1)  operating a motor vehicle, at the time of the 
accident, while intoxicated in violation of Section 49.04, Penal 
Code, or another law of this state relating to the operation of a 
motor vehicle while intoxicated; and
		(2)  convicted of an offense described by Subdivision 
(1).           
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), Subsection (a) 
applies to a claim for damages made by a person whose right to 
recovery derives from an injury to another person whose right to 
recovery would be barred under Subsection (a), including a claim 
for wrongful death or for loss of consortium or companionship.
	(d)  This section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary 
damages for a wilful act or omission or gross neglect in a wrongful 
death action brought by or on behalf of a surviving spouse or heirs 
of the decedent's body under a statute enacted pursuant to Section 
26, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.  A claim for exemplary damages 
described by this subsection is governed by Chapter 41.
	(e)  Each insurer that issues a policy of motor vehicle 
insurance in this state to comply with the requirements of Chapter 
601, Transportation Code, including a Lloyd's plan, county mutual 
insurer, or reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, shall notify the 
person to whom the policy is issued of the provisions of Subsections 
(a)-(d).  The notice required by this subsection shall be made at 
the time the policy is initially issued and at any time coverage 
under the policy is terminated.  The commissioner of insurance by 
rule shall adopt the form and content of the notice required by this 
subsection.
	(f)  The Department of Public Safety shall post notice of the 
provisions of Subsections (a)-(d) at each facility of the 
department at which an in-person application for issuance or 
renewal of a license may be made.
	(g)  A person who offers a driving safety course approved by 
the Texas Education Agency under the Texas Driver and Traffic 
Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c), Vernon's Texas Civil 
Statutes) shall notify each student in writing of the provisions of 
Subsections (a)-(d). The Texas Education Agency shall adopt the 
form and content of the notice required by this subsection.  At the 
option of the person who offers the course, the notice may be 
included in approved course materials or provided separately from 
those materials.
	(h)  This section does not prohibit a person described by 
Subsection (a) from acting in a representative capacity to bring 
suit on behalf of another person injured in the accident, as next 
friend or otherwise.
	SECTION 2.   This Act applies only to a cause of action that 
accrues on or after the effective date of this Act.  An action that 
accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law 
applicable to the action immediately before the effective date of 
this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.   This Act takes effect immediately.