79R2198 JTS-D
By: Berman H.B. No. 344
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the civil consequences of a conviction for certain
offenses involving driving while a driver's license is invalid or
driving without evidence of financial responsibility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 601.231, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) If a person is convicted of an offense under Section
601.191 and a prior conviction of that person under that section has
been reported to the department by a magistrate or the judge or
clerk of a court, the department shall suspend the [driver's
license and] vehicle registrations of the person unless the person
files and maintains evidence of financial responsibility with the
department until the second anniversary of the date of the
subsequent conviction.
(a-1) If a person is convicted of an offense under Section
601.191, the department shall suspend the driver's license of the
person:
(1) for six months if one prior conviction of that
person under that section has been reported to the department by a
magistrate or the judge or clerk of a court; or
(2) for one year if two or more prior convictions of
that person under that section have been reported to the department
by a magistrate or the judge or clerk of a court.
SECTION 2. Section 601.232, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 601.232. NOTICE OF SUSPENSION. (a) The department
shall mail in a timely manner a notice to each person whose driver's
license or [and] vehicle registration is [registrations are]
suspended under Section 601.231.
(b) The notice must state that the person's driver's license
or [and] registration is [are] suspended and that the person may
apply for reinstatement of the license or [and] vehicle
registration or issuance of a new license or [and] registration as
provided by Section [Sections 601.162 and] 601.376.
SECTION 3. Section 601.233, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 601.233. NOTICE OF POTENTIAL SUSPENSION. (a) A
citation for an offense under Section 601.191 issued as a result of
Section 601.053 must include, in type larger than other type on the
citation, the following statement:
"A second or subsequent conviction of an offense under the
Texas Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act will result in the
suspension of your [driver's license and] motor vehicle
registration unless you file and maintain evidence of financial
responsibility with the Department of Public Safety for two years
from the date of conviction. A second conviction of an offense
under that Act will result in the suspension of your driver's
license for a period of 30 days. A third or subsequent conviction
of an offense under that Act will result in the suspension of your
driver's license for a period of not less than one year. The
department may waive the requirement to file evidence of financial
responsibility if you file satisfactory evidence with the
department showing that at the time this citation was issued, the
vehicle was covered by a motor vehicle liability insurance policy
or that you were otherwise exempt from the requirements to provide
evidence of financial responsibility."
(b) A judge presiding at a trial at which a person is
convicted of a second or subsequent [an] offense under Section
601.191 shall notify the person that the Department of Public
Safety will suspend the person's driver's license [is subject to
suspension if the person fails to provide to the department
evidence of financial responsibility] as provided [required] by
Section 601.231(a-1) [601.231].
SECTION 4. Section 708.103, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 708.103. SURCHARGE FOR CONVICTION OF DRIVING WHILE
LICENSE INVALID OR WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) Each
year the department shall assess a surcharge on the license of each
person who:
(1) during the preceding 12-month [36-month] period has
been convicted of an offense under Section 521.457, 601.191, or
601.371;
(2) during the preceding 24-month period has been
convicted of a second offense under Section 521.457, 601.191, or
601.371; or
(3) during the preceding 36-month period has been
convicted of a third or subsequent offense under Section 521.457,
601.191, or 601.371.
(b) The amount of a surcharge under Subsection (a)(1) [this
section] is $250 [per year]. The amount of a surcharge under
Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is $250 per year.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act to Section
601.231, Transportation Code, applies only to an offense committed
on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if
any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.