81R4946 JD-D

By: Hegar S.B. No. 784

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the suspension of a driver's license by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 521.341, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 521.341. REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOMATIC LICENSE SUSPENSION. Except as provided by Sections 521.344(d)-(i), a license is automatically suspended on final conviction of the license holder of:

(1) an offense under Section 19.05, Penal Code, committed as a result of the holder's criminally negligent operation of a motor vehicle;

(2) an offense under Section 38.04, Penal Code, if the holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense;

(3) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.08, Penal Code;

(4) an offense under Section 49.07, Penal Code, if the holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense;

(5) an offense punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of this state;

(6) an offense under Section 550.021;

(7) an offense under Section 521.451 or 521.453; or

(8) an offense under Section 19.04, Penal Code, if the holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense.

SECTION 2. Sections 521.342(a) and (b), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 521.344, the license of a person who was under 21 years of age at the time of the offense, other than an offense classified as a misdemeanor punishable by fine only, is automatically suspended on conviction of:

(1) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07, Penal Code, committed as a result of the introduction of alcohol into the body;

(2) an offense under the Alcoholic Beverage Code, other than an offense to which Section 106.071 of that code applies, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation, or use of an alcoholic beverage;

(3) a misdemeanor offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, for which Subchapter P does not require the automatic suspension of the license;

(4) an offense under Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation, or use of a dangerous drug; or

(5) an offense under Chapter 485, Health and Safety Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation, or use of an abusable volatile chemical.

(b) The department shall suspend for one year the license of a person who is under 21 years of age and is convicted of an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, regardless of whether the person is required to attend an educational program under Section 13(h), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, that is designed to rehabilitate persons who have operated motor vehicles while intoxicated, unless the person is placed under community supervision under that article and is required as a condition of the community supervision to not operate a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with the device described by Section 13(i) of that article. If the person is required to attend such a program and does not complete the program before the end of the person's suspension, the department shall suspend the person's license or continue the suspension, as appropriate, until the department receives proof that the person has successfully completed the program. On the person's successful completion of the program, the person's instructor shall give notice to the department and to the community supervision and corrections department in the manner provided by Section 13(h), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.

SECTION 3. Sections 521.344(a), (c), and (i), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b) and 521.345, and by Subsections (d)-(i), if a person is convicted of an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07, Penal Code, the license suspension:

(1) begins on a date set by the court that is not earlier than the date of the conviction or later than the 30th day after the date of the conviction, as determined by the court; and

(2) continues for a period set by the court according to the following schedule:

(A) not less than 90 days or more than one year, if the person is punished under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07, Penal Code, except that if the person's license is suspended for a second or subsequent offense under Section 49.07 committed within five years of the date on which the most recent preceding offense was committed, the suspension continues for a period of one year;

(B) not less than 180 days or more than two years, if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code; or

(C) not less than one year or more than two years, if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code, and is subject to Section 49.09(h) of that code.

(c) The court shall credit toward the period of suspension a suspension imposed on the person for refusal to give a specimen under Chapter 724 if the refusal followed an arrest for the same offense for which the court is suspending the person's license under this chapter. The court may not extend the credit to a person:

(1) who has been previously convicted of an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code; or

(2) whose period of suspension is governed by Section 521.342(b).

(i) On the date that a suspension order under Section 521.343(c) is to expire, the period of suspension or the corresponding period in which the department is prohibited from issuing a license is automatically increased to two years unless the department receives notice of successful completion of the educational program as required by Section 13, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure. At the time a person is convicted of an offense under Section 49.04 or 49.045, Penal Code, the court shall warn the person of the effect of this subsection. On the person's successful completion of the program, the person's instructor shall give notice to the department and to the community supervision and corrections department in the manner required by Section 13, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure. If the department receives proof of completion after a period has been extended under this subsection, the department shall immediately end the suspension or prohibition.

SECTION 4. Sections 13(h) and (n), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:

(h) If a person convicted of an offense under Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal Code, is placed on community supervision, the judge shall require, as a condition of the community supervision, that the defendant attend and successfully complete before the 181st day after the day community supervision is granted an educational program jointly approved by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Department of Public Safety, the Traffic Safety Section of the Texas Department of Transportation, and the community justice assistance division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice designed to rehabilitate persons who have driven while intoxicated. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse shall publish the jointly approved rules and shall monitor, coordinate, and provide training to persons providing the educational programs. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is responsible for the administration of the certification of approved educational programs and may charge a nonrefundable application fee for the initial certification of approval and for renewal of a certificate. The judge may waive the educational program requirement or may grant an extension of time to successfully complete the program that expires not later than one year after the beginning date of the person's community supervision, however, if the defendant by a motion in writing shows good cause. In determining good cause, the judge may consider but is not limited to: the defendant's school and work schedule, the defendant's health, the distance that the defendant must travel to attend an educational program, and the fact that the defendant resides out of state, has no valid driver's license, or does not have access to transportation. The judge shall set out the finding of good cause for waiver in the judgment. If a defendant is required, as a condition of community supervision, to attend an educational program or if the court waives the educational program requirement, the court clerk shall immediately report that fact to the Department of Public Safety, on a form prescribed by the department, for inclusion in the person's driving record. If the court grants an extension of time in which the person may complete the program, the court clerk shall immediately report that fact to the Department of Public Safety on a form prescribed by the department. The report must include the beginning date of the person's community supervision. Upon the person's successful completion of the educational program, the person's instructor shall give notice to the Department of Public Safety for inclusion in the person's driving record and to the community supervision and corrections department. The community supervision and corrections department shall then forward the notice to the court clerk for filing. If the Department of Public Safety does not receive notice that a defendant required to complete an educational program has successfully completed the program within the period required by this section, as shown on department records, the department shall revoke the defendant's driver's license, permit, or privilege or prohibit the person from obtaining a license or permit, as provided by Sections 521.344(e) and (f), Transportation Code. The Department of Public Safety may not reinstate a license suspended under this subsection unless the person whose license was suspended makes application to the department for reinstatement of the person's license and pays to the department a reinstatement fee of $100 [$50]. The Department of Public Safety shall remit all fees collected under this subsection to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. This subsection does not apply to a defendant if a jury recommends community supervision for the defendant and also recommends that the defendant's driver's license not be suspended.

(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or other law, the judge who places on community supervision a defendant who was [is] younger than 21 years of age at the time of the offense and was convicted for an offense under Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal Code, shall:

(1) order that the defendant's driver's license be suspended for 90 days beginning on the date that the person is placed on community supervision; and

(2) require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant not operate a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with the device described by Subsection (i) of this section.

SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 521.341, 521.342, and 521.344, Transportation Code, and Section 13, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.