84R31191 AJZ-D

By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1056

(Turner of Harris)

Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1056: No.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to penalties for certain criminal offenses regarding operating a motor vehicle; imposing a fee and changing a surcharge.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 521.0265 to read as follows:

Sec. 521.0265. DISMISSAL OF DRIVING WITHOUT REQUIRED LICENSE CHARGE. (a) A judge may dismiss a charge of operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license under Section 521.021 if the defendant obtains a driver's license not later than the 60th working day after the date of the offense.

(b) The judge shall assess the defendant an administrative fee not to exceed $50 when a charge is dismissed under Subsection (a).

(c) This section does not apply to a charge of driving without a commercial driver's license under Section 522.011.

SECTION 2. Section 521.343(c), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) Except as otherwise provided by Section 521.457(h), if [If] the license holder is convicted of operating a motor vehicle while the license to operate a motor vehicle is cancelled, disqualified, suspended, revoked, or denied, the period is extended for the same term as the original suspension or disqualification, in addition to any penalty assessed under this chapter or Chapter 522.

SECTION 3. Section 521.457, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(h) The department may not extend the period a person's driver's license is suspended, as provided by Section 521.343, for a conviction of an offense described by Subsection (a)(2) if:

(1) the person has not been convicted of an offense under this section in the 36-month period before the date of the current offense; and

(2) at the time of the current offense the person's license was suspended under Section 708.152.

SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 601, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 601.192 to read as follows:

Sec. 601.192. DISMISSAL OF CHARGE OF OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIREMENT. (a) A judge may dismiss a charge under Section 601.191 for a defendant who cannot establish financial responsibility on the date of the offense if the defendant establishes financial responsibility under Section 601.051 not later than the 20th working day after the date of the offense.

(b) If the defendant establishes financial responsibility under Subsection (a) through a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that complies with Subchapter D, the policy must be prepaid and valid for at least a six-month period.

(c) The judge shall assess the defendant an administrative fee not to exceed $50 when a charge is dismissed under Subsection (a).

SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 708, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 708.004 to read as follows:

Sec. 708.004. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF COMMUNICATIONS. Notwithstanding a provision of this chapter requiring a notice or other communication to be sent by mail, the department may electronically send the communication if the department obtains consent from the person before electronically sending the communication.

SECTION 6. Section 708.055, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 708.055. NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF FIFTH POINT. The department shall notify the holder of a driver's license of the assignment of a fifth point on that license by first class mail sent to the person's most recent address as shown on the records of the department or records obtained by the department from another entity or service.

SECTION 7. Sections 708.102(b), (c), and (d), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) The [Each year the] department shall assess a surcharge on the license of a [each] person for each conviction [who during the preceding 36-month period has been finally convicted] of an offense relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

(c) The amount of a surcharge under this section is:

(1) $3,000 for the first conviction;

(2) $4,500 [$1,000 per year, except that the amount of the surcharge is:

[(1) $1,500 per year] for a second or subsequent conviction within a 36-month period; or

(3) $6,000 [and

[(2) $2,000] for a first or subsequent conviction if it is shown on the trial of the offense that an analysis of a specimen of the person's blood, breath, or urine showed an alcohol concentration level of 0.16 or more at the time the analysis was performed.

(d) A surcharge under this section [for the same conviction] may not be assessed more than once for the same conviction [in more than three years].

SECTION 8. Section 708.103, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 708.103. SURCHARGE FOR CONVICTION OF DRIVING WHILE LICENSE INVALID OR WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) The [Each year the] department shall assess a surcharge on the license of each person who is [during the preceding 36-month period has been] convicted of an offense under:

(1) Section [521.457,] 601.191[,] or 601.371; or

(2) Section 521.457, if the defendant has been previously convicted one or more times of an offense under that section.

(b) The amount of a surcharge under this section is $750 [$250 per year].

SECTION 9. Section 708.104, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 708.104. SURCHARGE FOR CONVICTION OF DRIVING WITHOUT REQUIRED [VALID] LICENSE. (a) The [Each year the] department shall assess a surcharge on the license of a person who is [during the preceding 36-month period has been] convicted of an offense under Section 521.021.

(b) The amount of a surcharge under this section is $300 [$100 per year].

(c) A surcharge under this section [for the same conviction] may not be assessed more than once for the same conviction [in more than three years].

SECTION 10. Section 708.105, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) The court shall notify a defendant charged with an offense under a traffic law of this state or a political subdivision of this state, in writing, at the time of the defendant's first court appearance or as soon as possible on or after the date the defendant pays a fine associated with the offense, whichever is earlier, that a conviction may result in the assessment of a surcharge under the driver responsibility program. The written notification must include the statement described by Subsection (a).

SECTION 11. Section 708.106, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 708.106. DEFERRAL OF SURCHARGES FOR DEPLOYED MILITARY PERSONNEL. The department by rule shall establish a deferral program for surcharges assessed under Section 708.103 or 708.104 against a person who is a member of the United States armed forces on active duty deployed outside of the continental United States. The program must:

(1) toll the surcharge payment [36-month] period while the person is deployed; and

(2) defer assessment of surcharges against the person until the date the person is no longer deployed for an offense committed:

(A) before the person was deployed; or

(B) while the person is deployed.

SECTION 12. Section 708.151(a), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The department shall send notices as required by Subsection (b) to the holder of a driver's license when a surcharge is assessed on that license. Each notice must:

(1) be sent by first class mail to:

(A) the person's most recent address as shown on the records of the department or records obtained by the department from another entity or service; or

(B) [to] the person's most recent forwarding address on record with the United States Postal Service if it is different;

(2) specify the date by which the surcharge must be paid;

(3) state the total dollar amount of the surcharge that must be paid, the number of monthly payments required under an installment payment plan, and the minimum monthly payment required for a person to enter and maintain an installment payment plan with the department; and

(4) state the consequences of a failure to pay the surcharge.

SECTION 13. Section 708.153, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 708.153. INSTALLMENT PAYMENT OF SURCHARGE. (a) The department by rule shall provide for the payment of any [a] surcharge assessed under this chapter in installments, including a surcharge pending on September 1, 2015.

(b) A rule under this section:

(1) may not require a person to:

(A) pay surcharges that total $1,000 [$500] or more over a period of less than 60 [36] consecutive months;

(B) pay surcharges that total more than $750 [$250] but not more than $999 [$499] over a period of less than 48 [24] consecutive months; or

(C) pay surcharges that total $749 [$249] or less over a period of less than 36 [12] consecutive months; and

(2) may provide that if the person fails to make any required monthly installment payment, the department may reestablish the installment plan on receipt of a payment in the amount equal to at least a required monthly installment payment.

SECTION 14. Section 708.158(a), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The department shall waive all surcharges assessed under this chapter for a person who is indigent. For the purposes of this section, a person is considered to be indigent if the person:

(1) was determined to be indigent for the purpose of appointing counsel under Article 26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the offense that is the basis for the surcharge, and the court did not make a subsequent finding that the person had the ability to pay, wholly or partly, the cost of the appointed counsel; or

(2) provides the evidence described by Subsection (b) to the court.

SECTION 15. Subchapter C, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 1001.1035 to read as follows:

Sec. 1001.1035. DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM INFORMATION. (a) The agency by rule shall require that information relating to the driver responsibility program established under Chapter 708, Transportation Code, and the surcharges assessed under that program be included in the curriculum of any driver education course or driving safety course.

(b) In developing rules under this section, the agency shall consult with the department.

SECTION 16. Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Government Code, is amended by adding Sections 103.02135 and 103.02136 to read as follows:

Sec. 103.02135. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASE: TRANSPORTATION CODE. A defendant shall pay the following administrative fee on dismissal of a charge of driving without a required license (Sec. 521.0265, Transportation Code) . . . $50.

Sec. 103.02136. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASE: TRANSPORTATION CODE. A defendant shall pay the following administrative fee on dismissal of a charge of operation of a motor vehicle in violation of motor vehicle liability insurance requirement (Sec. 601.192, Transportation Code) . . . $50.

SECTION 17. Section 708.159, Transportation Code, is repealed.

SECTION 18. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 19. The change in law made by this Act to Section 708.158, Transportation Code, applies only to a surcharge assessed on or after the effective date of this Act, including a surcharge assessed for a conviction for an offense that occurred before the effective date of this Act. The state is not required to refund a surcharge collected before the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.