BILL ANALYSIS
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Senate Research Center |
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AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Interested parties contend that Texas' roads become more dangerous when individuals operating motor vehicles do so without the adequate license or training to operate the vehicles. Parties also note that the state has a responsibility to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers on Texas roads by ensuring that all drivers have met the necessary requirements for operating a motor vehicle. In 2013 alone statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation cited more than 8,000 crashes, including 130 involving a fatality, in which a commercial vehicle driver was involved who failed to have a valid commercial driver's license (CDL). Currently, the penalty for driving with an invalid CDL is a Class C misdemeanor and up to a $500 fine. H.B. 1888 increases the fine for individuals driving without a CDL to a fine not to exceed $1,000. If the unlicensed driver has been convicted of a similar offense within the previous year the fine remains the same, but the charge becomes a Class B misdemeanor.
H.B. 1888 amends current law relating to punishment for the offense of driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license and increases a penalty.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 522.011(c), Transportation Code, as follows:
(c) Provides that an offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, except that the offense is a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant was convicted of an offense under this section in the year preceding the date of the offense that is the subject of the trial, rather than provides that an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2015.