|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to authorizing the Texas Department of Public Safety to |
|
|
establish a driver record monitoring pilot program and enter into |
|
|
contracts for the periodic reporting of certain information in the |
|
|
department's driver's license files; providing penalties. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, |
|
|
is amended by adding Section 521.060 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 521.060. DRIVER RECORD MONITORING PILOT PROGRAM. (a) |
|
|
The department by rule may establish a driver record monitoring |
|
|
pilot program. The term of the pilot program may not exceed one |
|
|
year. |
|
|
(b) Under the pilot program, the department may enter into a |
|
|
contract with a person to provide driver record monitoring |
|
|
services, as described by Subsection (c), and certain information |
|
|
from the department's driver's license records to the person, if the |
|
|
person: |
|
|
(1) is an employer, an insurer, an insurance support |
|
|
organization, an employer support organization, or an entity that |
|
|
self-insures its motor vehicles; and |
|
|
(2) is eligible to receive the information under |
|
|
Chapter 730. |
|
|
(c) A contract entered into by the department must require: |
|
|
(1) the department, during the term of the contract, |
|
|
to: |
|
|
(A) monitor the driver record of each holder of a |
|
|
driver's license issued by the department that is requested by the |
|
|
person with whom the department has contracted; |
|
|
(B) identify any change in the status of a |
|
|
driver's license or any conviction for a traffic offense reported |
|
|
to the department during the monitoring period; and |
|
|
(C) periodically, as specified in the contract, |
|
|
provide reports of those individuals identified as having a change |
|
|
in status or convictions to the person with whom the department has |
|
|
contracted; and |
|
|
(2) the person with whom the department has |
|
|
contracted: |
|
|
(A) to purchase under Section 521.046 a copy of |
|
|
the driver record of each individual identified in a report |
|
|
provided under Subdivision (1)(C); |
|
|
(B) to warrant that: |
|
|
(i) the person will not directly or |
|
|
indirectly disclose information received from the department under |
|
|
the contract to a third party without the express written consent of |
|
|
the department, except as required by law or legal process; and |
|
|
(ii) if a disclosure is required by law or |
|
|
legal process, the person will immediately notify the department so |
|
|
that the department may seek to oppose, limit, or restrict the |
|
|
required disclosure; and |
|
|
(C) if the person is an insurance support |
|
|
organization, to warrant that the person will not seek to obtain |
|
|
information about a holder of a driver's license under the contract |
|
|
unless the license holder is insured by a client of the |
|
|
organization, and that the person will provide the department with |
|
|
the name of each client to whom the insurance support organization |
|
|
provides information received from the department under the |
|
|
contract. |
|
|
(d) The attorney general may file a suit against a person |
|
|
with whom the department has contracted under this section for: |
|
|
(1) injunctive relief to prevent or restrain the |
|
|
person from violating a term of the contract or from directly or |
|
|
indirectly disclosing information received from the department |
|
|
under the contract in a manner that violates the terms of the |
|
|
contract; or |
|
|
(2) a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,000 |
|
|
for each disclosure in violation of those terms. |
|
|
(e) If the attorney general brings an action against a |
|
|
person under Subsection (d) and an injunction is granted against |
|
|
the person or the person is found liable for a civil penalty, the |
|
|
attorney general may recover reasonable expenses, court costs, |
|
|
investigative costs, and attorney's fees. Each day a violation |
|
|
continues or occurs is a separate violation for purposes of |
|
|
imposing a penalty under Subsection (d). |
|
|
(f) A violation of the terms of a contract entered into with |
|
|
the department by the person with whom the department has |
|
|
contracted is a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice |
|
|
under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code. |
|
|
(g) A civil action brought under this section shall be filed |
|
|
in a district court: |
|
|
(1) in Travis County; or |
|
|
(2) in any county in which the violation occurred. |
|
|
(h) A person with whom the department has contracted under |
|
|
this section commits an offense if the person directly or |
|
|
indirectly discloses information received from the department |
|
|
under the contract in a manner that violates the terms of the |
|
|
contract. An offense under this subsection is a Class B |
|
|
misdemeanor. If conduct constituting an offense under this |
|
|
subsection also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor |
|
|
may be prosecuted under this subsection, the other law, or both. |
|
|
(i) The department shall impose a fee on each person with |
|
|
whom the department contracts under this section for the services |
|
|
provided by the department under the contract. The fee must be |
|
|
reasonable and be not less than the amount necessary to allow the |
|
|
department to recover all reasonable costs to the department |
|
|
associated with entering into the contract and providing services |
|
|
to the person under the contract, including direct, indirect, and |
|
|
administrative costs and costs related to the development and |
|
|
deployment of the pilot program. |
|
|
(j) The department may establish a reasonable deadline by |
|
|
which a person must apply to enter into a contract with the |
|
|
department under this section and may not enter into a contract with |
|
|
a person who fails to apply before that deadline. |
|
|
(k) To the fullest extent practicable, the services of the |
|
|
department under a contract entered into under this section shall |
|
|
be provided by, through, or in conjunction with the interactive |
|
|
system established under Section 521.055. |
|
|
(l) At the conclusion of the term of the pilot program, and |
|
|
on the recommendation of the department, the commission may |
|
|
authorize the department to implement the pilot program as a |
|
|
permanent program. |
|
|
(m) Before the department recommends the pilot program be |
|
|
implemented as a permanent program, the department shall submit to |
|
|
the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
|
|
representatives, and each member of the legislature a report that |
|
|
contains an analysis of the scope, effectiveness, and cost benefits |
|
|
of the pilot program. The report must include: |
|
|
(1) a list of each insurance support organization with |
|
|
whom the department has contracted under this section; and |
|
|
(2) a list of each client to whom the insurance support |
|
|
organization has provided information received from the department |
|
|
under this section. |
|
|
SECTION 2. 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, 2007. |