BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 985

By: Burns

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised over the need to improve human trafficking prevention measures by educating the public on how to prevent human trafficking. It has been suggested that the state should do more to educate as many people as possible in this effort. C.S.H.B. 985 seeks to address this issue by providing for the inclusion of information relating to human trafficking prevention into driver education and driver safety courses.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation in SECTION 2 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 985 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation (TCLR) to require by rule that information relating to human trafficking prevention be included in the curriculum of any driver education or driving safety course. The bill requires TCLR to consult with the human trafficking prevention coordinating council in developing the rules and to adopt the rules not later than May 1, 2022. The bill requires each driver education or driving safety course held on or after September 1, 2022, to include the required information in the course curriculum. The act is to be known as the Julia Wells Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 985 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 deadline for TCLR to adopt the rules from not later than March 1, 2022, to not later than May 1, 2022.

The substitute changes the requirement for each driver education or driving safety course provider to submit the curriculum that includes the required information to TCLR not later than September 1, 2022, to a requirement for each such course held on or after that date to include the information in the course curriculum.

The substitute includes a short title not in the original for the act to be known as the Julia Wells Act.