By: Vaught, Kent, King of Taylor, Gattis, H.B. No. 2012
Bohac
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the criminal consequences of operating without a valid
driver's license a motor vehicle for which financial responsibility
is not established.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Eric's Law.
SECTION 2. Section 521.457, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (e) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-2) to
read as follows:
(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f), [and] (f-1), and
(f-2), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(f) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
if [If] it is shown on the trial of the [an] offense [under this
section] that the person:
(1) has previously been convicted of an offense under
this section or an offense under Section 601.371(a), as that law
existed before September 1, 2003; or
(2) at the time of the offense, was operating the motor
vehicle in violation of Section 601.191 [, the offense is a Class B
misdemeanor].
(f-2) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that at the time of
the offense the person was operating the motor vehicle in violation
of Section 601.191 and caused or was at fault in a motor vehicle
accident that resulted in serious bodily injury to or the death of
another person.
SECTION 3. (a) The Legislative Budget Board shall prepare
an annual criminal justice policy impact statement for this Act.
(b) The impact statement must include information
concerning:
(1) the number of arrests and resulting criminal
dispositions under this Act;
(2) the fiscal impact of arrests, trials, convictions,
and imprisoning or imposing other sanctions on persons in
accordance with this Act;
(3) the race and ethnicity of persons arrested,
prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated under this Act;
(4) the impact of this Act on existing correctional
facilities, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code;
(5) the likelihood that this Act may create a need for
additional prison capacity;
(6) civil action damages assessed and collected, and
assets seized and forfeited under this Act; and
(7) any other matter the Legislative Budget Board
determines relevant.
(c) The Legislative Budget Board shall complete the impact
statement not later than December 1 each year, beginning December
1, 2010, and make it available to the public on its website.
SECTION 4. 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 when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
committed before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.