By: Carona S.B. No. 1077

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to driver education and driver's licensing requirements for minors.

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

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Less Tears More Years Act.

SECTION 2. Section 29.902, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) A school district shall consider offering a driver education and traffic safety course during each school year. If the district offers the course, the district may:

(1) conduct the course and charge a fee for the course in the amount determined by the agency to be comparable to the fee charged by a driver education school that holds a license under Chapter 1001; or

(2) contract with a driver education school that holds a license under Chapter 1001 to conduct the course.

SECTION 3. Section 1001.101, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1001.101. DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE CURRICULUM AND TEXTBOOKS. (a) The commissioner by rule shall establish or approve the curriculum and designate the textbooks to be used in a driver education course, including a driver education course conducted by a school district, driver education school, or parent or other individual under Section 521.205, Transportation Code.

(b) A driver education course must require the student to complete:

(1) seven hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in the presence of a person who holds a driver education instructor license;

(2) seven hours of observation instruction in the presence of a person who holds a driver education instructor license; and

(3) 20 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, including at least 10 hours of instruction that takes place at night, in the presence of an adult who meets the requirements of Section 521.222(d)(2), Transportation Code.

SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 1001.257 to read as follows:

Sec. 1001.257. DENIAL OF LICENSE. The commissioner may not issue or renew a driver education instructor license, including a temporary license, to a person who has six or more points assigned to the person's driver's license under Subchapter B, Chapter 708, Transportation Code.

SECTION 5. Section 521.165, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), in [In] issuing a driver's license for certain types of vehicles, the director may waive a driving test for an applicant who has successfully completed and passed the training and testing conducted by a person certified under Subsection (a).

(d) The director may not waive the driving test required by Section 521.161 for an applicant who is under 18 years of age.

SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 521.205, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The department by rule shall provide for approval of a driver education course conducted by the parent, stepparent, foster parent, legal guardian, step-grandparent, or grandparent of a person who is required to complete a driver education course to obtain a Class C license. The rules must provide that:

(1) the person conducting the course possess a valid license for the preceding three years that [and the license] has not been suspended, revoked, or forfeited in the past three years for an offense that involves the operation of a motor vehicle [traffic related violations];

(2) the student driver spend a minimum number of hours in:

(A) classroom instruction; and

(B) behind-the-wheel instruction;

(3) the person conducting the course not be convicted of:

(A) criminally negligent homicide; or

(B) driving while intoxicated; [and]

(4) the person conducting the course not be disabled because of mental illness; and

(5) the person conducting the course not have six or more points assigned to the person's driver's license under Subchapter B, Chapter 708, at the time the person begins conducting the course.

SECTION 7. Subchapter J, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 521.206 to read as follows:

Sec. 521.206. COLLISION RATE STATISTICS PUBLICATION. (a) The department shall collect data regarding collisions of students taught by public schools, driver education schools licensed under Chapter 1001, Education Code, and other entities that offer driver education courses to students for which a uniform certificate of course completion is issued. The collision rate is computed by determining the number of an entity's students who complete a driver education course during a state fiscal year, dividing that number by the number of collisions that involved students who completed such a course and that occurred in the 12-month period following their licensure, and expressing the quotient as a percentage.

(b) The department shall collect data regarding the collision rate of students taught by course instructors approved under Section 521.205. The collision rate is computed by determining the number of students who completed a course approved under Section 521.205 during a state fiscal year, dividing that number by the number of collisions that involved students who completed such a course and that occurred in the 12-month period following their licensure, and expressing the quotient as a percentage.

(c) Not later than October 1 of each year, the department shall issue a publication listing the collision rate for students taught by each driver education entity and the collision rate for students taught by a course instructor approved under Section 521.205, noting the severity of collisions involving students of each entity and each type of course.

SECTION 8. Section 521.271, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) Each original driver's license and provisional license expires as follows:

(1) except as provided by Section 521.2711, a driver's license expires on the first birthday of the license holder occurring after the sixth anniversary of the date of the application;

(2) a provisional license expires on [the earlier of:

[(A)] the 18th birthday of the license holder[; or

[(B) the first birthday of the license holder occurring after the date of the application];

(3) an instruction permit expires on the 18th birthday of the license holder [second birthday of the license holder occurring after the date of the application]; and

(4) an occupational license expires on the first anniversary of the court order granting the license.

(a-1) The Texas Education Agency shall inform the department when a person who is a holder of a provisional license or instruction permit has dropped out of the school at which the person was enrolled. On the date the department receives that information, the department shall revoke the person's provisional license or instruction permit and in writing notify the person of the revocation. The Texas Education Agency and the department shall adopt joint rules to implement this subsection.

SECTION 9. Subsection (c), Section 521.421, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The fee for issuance [or renewal] of a provisional license or instruction permit is $15 [$5].

SECTION 10. Section 545.424, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(a) A person under 18 years of age[, during the six-month period following issuance of an original Class A, B, or C driver's license to the person,] may not operate a motor vehicle:

(1) during the 12-month period following issuance of an original Class A, B, or C driver's license to the person:

(A) after 10 p.m. [midnight] and before 5 a.m. unless the operation of the vehicle is necessary for the operator to attend or participate in employment or a school-related activity or because of a medical emergency; or

(B) [(2)] with more than one passenger in the vehicle under 21 years of age who is not a family member; or

(2) [(3)] while using a wireless communications device.

(b) A person under 17 years of age who holds a restricted motorcycle license or moped license, during the 12-month [six-month] period following the issuance of an original motorcycle license or moped license to the person, may not operate a motorcycle or moped:

(1) after 10 p.m. [midnight] and before 5 a.m. unless:

(A) the person is in sight of the person's parent or guardian; or

(B) the operation of the vehicle is necessary for the operator to attend or participate in employment or a school-related activity or because of a medical emergency; or

(2) while using a wireless communications device.

(c) This section does not apply to:

(1) the holder of a hardship license; [or]

(2) a person operating a motor vehicle while accompanied in the manner required by Section 521.222(d)(2) for the holder of an instruction permit; or

(3) a person licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to operate a wireless communication device or a radio frequency device.

(f) In this section, "wireless communication device" means a handheld or hands-free device that uses commercial mobile service, as defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 332.

SECTION 11. (a) For the purpose of compiling data for the publication required by Section 521.206, Transportation Code, as added by this Act, the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall determine the number of minor students taught by each driver education entity and the total number of minor students taught by courses approved under Section 521.205, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, who become licensed during the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2009, and ending August 31, 2010.

(b) The first publication of collision rate data compiled under Section 521.206, Transportation Code, as added by this Act, shall be issued not later than October 1, 2011.

SECTION 12. Not later than November 30, 2009, the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall appoint a task force to review and make recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the materials provided by the Texas Education Agency for use in courses licensed under Chapter 1001, Education Code, as amended by this Act, or authorized by Section 521.205, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act. The task force shall consist of the following members:

(1) a representative of the Texas Department of Public Safety;

(2) a representative of the Texas Education Agency;

(3) a commercial provider of driver education courses;

(4) a member of an interested group or association, as determined by the department; and

(5) other appropriate members, as determined by the department.

SECTION 13. (a) Subsection (c), Section 29.902, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2010, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules as required by Section 1001.101, Education Code, as amended by this Act.

(c) Each driver education and training program approved by the Texas Education Agency under Chapter 1001, Education Code, must comply with the curriculum requirements of Section 1001.101, Education Code, as amended by this Act, not later than May 1, 2010.

(d) Section 521.165, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application for a driver's license submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An application for a driver's license submitted before the effective date of this Act is subject to the law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(e) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 521.205, Transportation Code, apply to a course approved under that section that begins on or after the effective date of this Act. A course beginning before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the course was commenced, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(f) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 521.271, 521.421, and 545.424, Transportation Code, apply only to a person issued a driver's license on or after the effective date of this Act. A person issued a driver's license before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the license was issued, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.