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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to establishing a pilot program for driver education |
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schools to administer certain driver's license examinations; |
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authorizing fees. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, |
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is amended by adding Section 521.1656 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 521.1656. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ADDITIONAL TESTING BY |
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DRIVER EDUCATION SCHOOL. (a) This section applies only to a county |
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that has a population of at least 662,000 and is adjacent to three |
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or more counties each of which has a population of 782,000 or more. |
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(b) The department shall establish in a county to which this |
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section applies a pilot program under which the department may |
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designate driver education schools licensed under Chapter 1001, |
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Education Code, to administer the examination required under |
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Section 521.161(b)(2) in addition to the department's |
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administration of that examination. |
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(c) The department shall: |
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(1) establish criteria for a driver education school |
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to apply for participation in the pilot program; |
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(2) monitor participating driver education schools to |
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ensure that the driver education schools are conducting thorough |
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examinations; and |
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(3) conduct annual reports outlining: |
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(A) the number of individuals who opt to have the |
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examination required under Section 521.161(b)(2) administered by a |
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participating driver education school; |
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(B) the number of traffic incidents and citations |
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involving drivers who were administered the examination required |
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under Section 521.161(b)(2) by a driver education school under the |
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pilot program and whether that number is proportional to the |
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overall incident and citation rate in this state; and |
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(C) the department's assessment of the ability of |
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driver education schools to effectively administer the examination |
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required under Section 521.161(b)(2). |
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(d) The department shall set the amount of the fee a driver |
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education school participating in the pilot program may charge for |
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administering an examination required under Section 521.161(b)(2). |
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A driver education school participating in the pilot program may |
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not accept payment in cash for services provided under this |
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section. |
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(e) The department may charge a driver education school a |
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fee for applying to enter the pilot program and for participating in |
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the program. The department shall set the fees in amounts |
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sufficient to cover the costs of administering this section. |
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(f) The department shall adopt rules to implement this |
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section. |
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(g) This section expires September 1, 2017. |
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SECTION 2. The Department of Public Safety shall adopt the |
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rules required by Section 521.1656, Transportation Code, as added |
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by this Act, not later than January 1, 2014. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |