78R1057 JD-D
By: Hope H.B. No. 457
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a watercraft while intoxicated.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 49.01(4), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(4) "Watercraft" means a vessel [, one or more water
skis, an aquaplane,] or another device used for transporting or
carrying a person on water, other than a device propelled only by
the current of water.
SECTION 2. Section 521.341, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 521.341. REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOMATIC LICENSE
SUSPENSION. Except as provided by Sections 521.344(d)-(i), a
license is automatically suspended on final conviction of the
license holder of:
(1) an offense under Section 19.05, Penal Code,
committed as a result of the holder's criminally negligent
operation of a motor vehicle;
(2) an offense under Section 38.04, Penal Code;
(3) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.06, or 49.08,
Penal Code;
(4) an offense under Section 49.07, Penal Code, if the
person used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense;
(5) an offense punishable as a felony under the motor
vehicle laws of this state;
(6) an offense under Section 550.021; or
(7) an offense under Section 521.451 or 521.453.
SECTION 3. Section 521.342(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 521.344, the license of a
person who was under 21 years of age at the time of the offense,
other than an offense classified as a misdemeanor punishable by
fine only, is automatically suspended on conviction of:
(1) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.06, or 49.07,
Penal Code, committed as a result of the introduction of alcohol
into the body;
(2) an offense under the Alcoholic Beverage Code,
other than an offense to which Section 106.071 of that code applies,
involving the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation,
or use of an alcoholic beverage;
(3) a misdemeanor offense under Chapter 481, Health
and Safety Code, for which Subchapter P does not require the
automatic suspension of the license;
(4) an offense under Chapter 483, Health and Safety
Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession,
transportation, or use of a dangerous drug; or
(5) an offense under Chapter 485 [484], Health and
Safety Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession,
transportation, or use of an abusable [a] volatile chemical.
SECTION 4. Sections 521.344(a) and (c), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b) and 521.345,
and by Subsections (d)-(i), if a person is convicted of an offense
under Section 49.04, 49.06, or 49.07, Penal Code, the license
suspension:
(1) begins on a date set by the court that is not
earlier than the date of the conviction or later than the 30th day
after the date of the conviction, as determined by the court; and
(2) continues for a period set by the court according
to the following schedule:
(A) not less than 90 days or more than one year,
if the person is punished under Section 49.04, 49.06, or 49.07,
Penal Code, except that if the person's license is suspended for a
second or subsequent offense under Section 49.07 committed within
five years of the date on which the most recent preceding offense
was committed, the suspension continues for a period of one year;
(B) not less than 180 days or more than two years,
if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code;
or
(C) not less than one year or more than two years,
if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code,
and is subject to Section 49.09(g) of that code, as added by Chapter
969, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
(c) The court shall credit toward the period of suspension a
suspension imposed on the person for refusal to give a specimen
under Chapter 724 if the refusal followed an arrest for the same
offense for which the court is suspending the person's license
under this chapter. The court may not extend the credit to a
person:
(1) who has been previously convicted of an offense
under Section 49.04, 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code; or
(2) whose period of suspension is governed by Section
521.342(b).
SECTION 5. Section 524.001(3), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement
contact" means a driver's license suspension, disqualification, or
prohibition order under the laws of this state or another state
resulting from:
(A) a conviction of an offense prohibiting the
operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft while:
(i) intoxicated;
(ii) under the influence of alcohol; or
(iii) under the influence of a controlled
substance;
(B) a refusal to submit to the taking of a breath
or blood specimen following an arrest for an offense prohibiting
the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft while:
(i) intoxicated;
(ii) under the influence of alcohol; or
(iii) under the influence of a controlled
substance; or
(C) an analysis of a breath or blood specimen
showing an alcohol concentration of a level specified by Section
49.01, Penal Code, following an arrest for an offense prohibiting
the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft while intoxicated.
SECTION 6. Section 524.011(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An officer arresting a person shall comply with
Subsection (b) if:
(1) the person is arrested for an offense under
Section 49.04 or 49.06, Penal Code, or an offense under Section
49.07 or 49.08 of that code involving the operation of a motor
vehicle or watercraft, submits to the taking of a specimen of breath
or blood and an analysis of the specimen shows the person had an
alcohol concentration of a level specified by Section 49.01(2)(B),
Penal Code; or
(2) the person is a minor arrested for an offense under
Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or Section 49.04 or
49.06, Penal Code, or an offense under Section 49.07 or 49.08, Penal
Code, involving the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft and:
(A) the minor is not requested to submit to the
taking of a specimen; or
(B) the minor submits to the taking of a specimen
and an analysis of the specimen shows that the minor had an alcohol
concentration of greater than .00 but less than the level specified
by Section 49.01(2)(B), Penal Code.
SECTION 7. Section 524.012(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall suspend the person's driver's
license if the department determines that:
(1) the person had an alcohol concentration of a level
specified by Section 49.01(2)(B), Penal Code, while operating a
motor vehicle in a public place or while operating a watercraft; or
(2) the person is a minor and had any detectable amount
of alcohol in the minor's system while operating a motor vehicle in
a public place or while operating a watercraft.
SECTION 8. Section 524.015(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A suspension may not be imposed under this chapter on a
person who is acquitted of a criminal charge under Section 49.04,
49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, or Section 106.041, Alcoholic
Beverage Code, arising from the occurrence that was the basis for
the suspension. If a suspension was imposed before the acquittal,
the department shall rescind the suspension and shall remove any
reference to the suspension from the person's computerized driving
record.
SECTION 9. Section 524.022(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A period of suspension under this chapter for a minor
is:
(1) 60 days if the minor has not been previously
convicted of an offense under Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, or Section 49.04 or 49.06, Penal Code, or an offense under
Section 49.07 or 49.08, Penal Code, involving the operation of a
motor vehicle or watercraft;
(2) 120 days if the minor has been previously
convicted once of an offense listed by Subdivision (1); or
(3) 180 days if the minor has been previously
convicted twice or more of an offense listed by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 10. Section 524.023, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 524.023. APPLICATION OF SUSPENSION UNDER OTHER
LAWS. (a) If a person is convicted of an offense under Section
106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or Section 49.04, 49.06, 49.07,
or 49.08, Penal Code, and if any conduct on which that conviction is
based is a ground for a driver's license suspension under this
chapter and Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, Subchapter O,
Chapter 521, or Subchapter H, Chapter 522, each of the suspensions
shall be imposed.
(b) The court imposing a driver's license suspension under
Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or Chapter 521 or 522 as
required by Subsection (a) shall credit a period of suspension
imposed under this chapter toward the period of suspension required
under Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or Subchapter O,
Chapter 521, or Subchapter H, Chapter 522, unless the person was
convicted of an offense under Article 6701l-1, Revised Statutes, as
that law existed before September 1, 1994, Section 19.05(a)(2),
Penal Code, as that law existed before September 1, 1994, Section
49.04, 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, or Section 106.041,
Alcoholic Beverage Code, before the date of the conviction on which
the suspension is based, in which event credit may not be given.
SECTION 11. Section 524.035(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The issues that must be proved at a hearing by a
preponderance of the evidence are:
(1) whether:
(A) the person had an alcohol concentration of a
level specified by Section 49.01(2)(B), Penal Code, while operating
a motor vehicle in a public place or while operating a watercraft;
or
(B) the person is a minor and had any detectable
amount of alcohol in the minor's system while operating a motor
vehicle in a public place or while operating a watercraft; and
(2) whether reasonable suspicion to stop or probable
cause to arrest the person existed.
SECTION 12. Section 524.042(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A suspension of a driver's license under this chapter is
stayed on the filing of an appeal petition only if:
(1) the person's driver's license has not been
suspended as a result of an alcohol-related or drug-related
enforcement contact during the five years preceding the date of the
person's arrest; and
(2) the person has not been convicted during the 10
years preceding the date of the person's arrest of an offense under:
(A) Article 6701l-1, Revised Statutes, as that
law existed before September 1, 1994;
(B) Section 19.05(a)(2), Penal Code, as that law
existed before September 1, 1994;
(C) Section 49.04 or 49.06, Penal Code;
(D) Section 49.07 or 49.08, Penal Code, if the
offense involved the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft; or
(E) Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code.
SECTION 13. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 49.01,
Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after September
1, 2003. An offense committed before September 1, 2003, is governed
by the law in effect on the date that the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 521,
Transportation Code, apply only to a person finally convicted of an
offense under Section 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, on or
after September 1, 2003. A person finally convicted of an offense
under Section 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, before September
1, 2003, is covered by Chapter 521, Transportation Code, as that law
existed on the date the conviction became final, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
(d) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 524,
Transportation Code, apply only to a person arrested for an offense
under Section 106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or for an offense
under Section 49.06, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, on or after
September 1, 2003. A person arrested for an offense under Section
106.041, Alcoholic Beverage Code, or under Section 49.06, 49.07, or
49.08, Penal Code, before September 1, 2003, is covered by Chapter
524, Transportation Code, as that law existed on the date of the
person's arrest, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.