By: Lindsay S.B. No. 1257
(In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2005; March 21, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
Security; April 11, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
April 11, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1257 By: Lindsay
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a motor vehicle by a person who holds a
driver's license or a commercial driver's license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 521.292, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall suspend the person's license if the
department determines that the person:
(1) has operated a motor vehicle on a highway while the
person's license was suspended, canceled, disqualified, or
revoked, or without a license after an application for a license was
denied;
(2) is a habitually reckless or negligent operator of
a motor vehicle;
(3) is a habitual violator of the traffic laws;
(4) has permitted the unlawful or fraudulent use of
the person's license;
(5) has committed an offense in another state or
Canadian province that, if committed in this state, would be
grounds for suspension;
(6) [has violated a restriction or an endorsement
imposed on the use of the license;
[(7)] has been convicted of two or more separate
offenses of a violation of a restriction imposed on the use of the
license;
(7) [(8)] has been responsible as a driver for any
accident resulting in serious personal injury or serious property
damage;
(8) [(9)] is the holder of a provisional license
issued under Section 521.123 and has been convicted of two or more
moving violations committed within a 12-month period; or
(9) [(10)] has committed an offense under Section
545.421.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 522.004, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a vehicle that is controlled and operated by a
farmer and:
(A) used to transport agricultural products,
farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm;
(B) used within 150 miles of the person's farm;
and
(C) not used in the operations of a common or
contract motor carrier;
(2) a fire-fighting or emergency vehicle necessary to
the preservation of life or property or the execution of emergency
governmental functions, whether operated by an employee of a
political subdivision or by a volunteer fire fighter;
(3) a military vehicle, when operated for military
purposes by military personnel, including:
(A) active duty military personnel, including
personnel serving in the United States Coast Guard; and
(B) members of the reserves and national guard on
active duty, including personnel on full-time national guard duty,
personnel engaged in part-time training, and national guard
military technicians;
(4) a recreational vehicle that is driven for personal
use;
(5) a vehicle that is owned, leased, or controlled by
an air carrier, as defined by Section 21.155, and that is driven or
operated exclusively by an employee of the air carrier only on the
premises of an airport, as defined by Section 22.001, on service
roads to which the public does not have access; or
(6) a vehicle used exclusively to transport seed
cotton modules or cotton burrs.
SECTION 3. Section 522.081, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A person who holds a commercial driver's license is
disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle if the
person's driving is determined to constitute an imminent hazard
under 49 C.F.R. Section 383.52. The disqualification is for the
disqualification period imposed under that section and shall be
noted on the person's driving record.
SECTION 4. Subsection (f), Article 45.051, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(f) This article does not apply to:
(1) an offense to which Section 542.404 or 729.004(b),
Transportation Code, applies; or
(2) a traffic offense committed by a person who:
(A) holds a commercial driver's license; or
(B) held a commercial driver's license when the
offense was committed.
SECTION 5. Subsection (s), Article 45.0511, Code of
Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(s) This article does not apply to an offense committed by a
person who:
(1) holds a commercial driver's license; or
(2) held a commercial driver's license when the
offense was committed.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Articles
45.051 and 45.0511, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to an
offense committed on or after September 1, 2005. An offense
committed before September 1, 2005, is covered by the laws in effect
when the offense was committed, and the former laws are continued in
effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
was committed before September 1, 2005, if any element of the
offense was committed before that date.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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