79R13300 JRJ-F
By: Hamilton H.B. No. 3129
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a driver safety program for holders of
provisional driver's licenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.032 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.032. PROVISIONAL LICENSE HOLDER DRIVER SAFETY
PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "program partner" means an
organization such as the I Saw You Safety & Scholarship Foundation,
Inc., that is:
(1) exempt from federal income taxation under Section
501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as an organization described
by Section 501(c)(3) of that code; and
(2) created for the purpose of preventing injuries and
deaths caused by young drivers.
(b) The department shall create a driver safety pilot
program for provisional license holders in conjunction with a
program partner to determine whether a monitoring system will
reduce the number of accidents involving provisional license
holders. The pilot program shall:
(1) provide for voluntary participation and
enrollment in the program by a provisional license holder;
(2) establish a toll-free telephone system with
bilingual call centers for a person to report the observed
operation of a vehicle by a person who is participating or enrolled
in the pilot program; and
(3) commence on or before September 1, 2005.
(c) The department may solicit, accept, and administer
gifts and grants from any public or private source for the use and
benefit of the program. The department shall apply for grants from
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under 23 U.S.C.
Sections 403 and 407. The program partner shall prepare the
application for any grants for the pilot program at the expense of
the program partner. Money received by the department or the
program partner under this section and Section 521.421(i) shall be
deposited to the credit of the state highway fund and used by the
department to benefit the pilot program.
(d) The department shall appoint a project manager to
coordinate the pilot program and to facilitate the collection and
analysis of accident data.
(e) The legislature may appropriate money to the department
for support of the program in addition to any amounts allocated by
the General Appropriations Act.
(f) This section expires September 1, 2007.
SECTION 2. Section 521.421, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(i) The department shall collect an additional fee of $1 for
the issuance or renewal of a license under Subsection (a), (b), or
(c) to fund the Provisional License Holder Driver Safety Pilot
Program established under Section 521.032, unless the person
applying for or renewing a license chooses not to pay the additional
fee. This subsection expires September 1, 2007.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.