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79R2030 JD-D

By:  Hopson                                                       H.B. No. 1245



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the enforcement of the condition for release on bond of 
a defendant charged with certain intoxication offenses that 
requires the use of a motor vehicle ignition interlock device; 
providing penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Article 17.441, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended by adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
	(e)  A magistrate who releases a defendant on bond and 
requires that the defendant not operate any motor vehicle unless 
the vehicle is equipped with a device described by Subsection 
(a)(1) shall send a copy of the magistrate's order to the Texas 
Department of Public Safety at its Austin headquarters as soon as 
practicable but not later than the third day after the date the 
defendant is released on bond.  As soon as practicable but not later 
than the third day after the date the department receives the copy 
of the magistrate's order, the department shall add an appropriate 
notation of the order to any driver's license record maintained by 
the department for the defendant and report the magistrate's  order 
to a local law enforcement agency that makes a subsequent inquiry of 
the defendant's driving record.
	(f)  A magistrate who finally discharges the defendant from 
the conditions for release on bond that were required by the 
magistrate under Subsection (a) shall send a copy of the 
discharging order to the Texas Department of Public Safety at its 
Austin headquarters as soon as practicable but not later than the 
third day after the date the magistrate discharges the defendant 
from those conditions.  As soon as practicable but not later than 
the third day after the date the department receives the copy of the 
discharging order, the department shall update the defendant's 
driver's license record to show that the defendant is no longer 
prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with 
the device described by Subsection (a)(1).
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Section 38.20 to read as follows:
	Sec. 38.20.  OPERATING MOTOR VEHICLE WITHOUT DEVICE TO 
PREVENT DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL.  (a)  A person who, 
as a condition of release on bond under Article 17.441, Code of 
Criminal Procedure, is required by a magistrate not to operate any 
motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with the device 
described by Subsection (a)(1) of that article commits an offense 
if the person operates a motor vehicle that is not equipped with 
such a device.
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsections (c)-(e), an offense 
under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), if the 
offense with which the person was charged when released on bond was 
a felony offense, an offense under this section is a state jail 
felony.
	(d)  If the person has previously been convicted one time of 
an offense under this section, an offense under this section is a 
felony of the third degree.
	(e)  If the person has previously been convicted two times of 
an offense under this section, an offense under this section is a 
felony of the second degree.
	(f)  This section does not preclude the enforcement of 
Section 49.09(h).
	SECTION 3.  (a)  Articles 17.441(e) and (f), Code of Criminal 
Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only in connection with a 
defendant released on bond by a magistrate under Article 17.441 of 
that code on or after the effective date of this Act.
	(b)  Article 38.20, Penal Code, as added by this Act, applies 
to a defendant released on bond by a magistrate under Article 
17.441, Code of Criminal Procedure, who on or after the effective 
date of this Act operates a motor vehicle without the device 
described by Article 17.441(a)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, 
regardless of whether the defendant was released on bond under that 
article before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.