BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 196

By: Stephenson

Insurance

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding the difficulty encountered by courts when attempting to verify motor vehicle liability insurance coverage for related motorist citations through insurance companies. It has been suggested that court access to the financial responsibility verification program for verification purposes would provide for a more efficient referral process for these citations, saving courts and motorists time and money. C.S.H.B. 196 seeks to address this issue by granting justice and municipal courts access to this program.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 196 amends the Transportation Code to authorize a justice or municipal court to access the financial responsibility verification program established under the Texas Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act to verify financial responsibility for the purpose of court proceedings.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 196 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the purpose for which a justice or municipal court may access the verification program from a purpose of verifying a specific document used in support of a defense to prosecution of an alleged offense to a purpose of verifying financial responsibility for the purpose of court proceedings generally.