81(R) HB 2730 - 2nd reading F19 (S)



	
Amend CSHB 2730 by adding the following SECTION to the bill, 
appropriately numbered, and renumbering existing SECTIONS 
accordingly:
	SECTION ____.  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 that 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 
which 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.