By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1317
(In the Senate - Filed March 4, 2009; March 17, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
Security; April 1, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
April 1, 2009, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1317 By: Wentworth
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to education and examination requirements for the issuance
of a driver's license to certain persons.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (d), Section 521.142, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) If the applicant is under 25 years of age, the
application must state whether the applicant has completed a driver
education course required by Section 521.1601 [approved by the
department].
SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 521,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 521.1601 and 521.167 to read as
follows:
Sec. 521.1601. DRIVER EDUCATION REQUIRED. The department
may not issue a driver's license to a person who is younger than 25
years of age unless the person submits to the department a driver
education certificate issued under Chapter 1001, Education Code,
that states that the person has completed and passed:
(1) a driver education and traffic safety course
approved by the Texas Education Agency under Section 29.902,
Education Code, or a driver education course approved by that
agency under Section 1001.101(a)(1) of that code or approved by the
department under Section 521.205; or
(2) if the person is 18 years of age or older, a driver
education course approved by the Texas Education Agency under
Section 1001.101(a)(1) or (2), Education Code.
Sec. 521.167. WAIVER OF CERTAIN EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION
REQUIREMENTS. A person who has completed and passed a driver
education course approved by the Texas Education Agency under
Section 1001.101(a)(2), Education Code, is not required to take the
highway sign and traffic law parts of the examination required
under Section 521.161 if those parts have been successfully
completed as determined by a licensed driver education instructor.
SECTION 4. Section 1001.004, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1001.004. COST OF ADMINISTERING CHAPTER. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (b), the [The] cost of administering this
chapter shall be included in the state budget allowance for the
agency.
(b) The commissioner may charge a fee to each driver
education school in an amount not to exceed the actual expense
incurred in the regulation of driver education courses established
under Section 1001.101(a)(2).
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 1001.055, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall print and supply to each licensed or
exempt driver education school driver education certificates to be
used for certifying completion of an approved driver education
course to satisfy the requirements of Sections [Section]
521.204(a)(2) and 521.1601, Transportation Code. The certificates
must be numbered serially.
SECTION 6. Section 1001.101, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1001.101. DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE CURRICULUM AND
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS [TEXTBOOKS]. (a) The commissioner by rule
shall establish the curriculum and designate the educational
materials [textbooks] to be used in:
(1) a driver education course for minors and adults;
and
(2) a driver education course exclusively for adults.
(b) A driver education course under Subsection (a)(2) must:
(1) be a six-hour course; and
(2) include instruction in:
(A) alcohol and drug awareness;
(B) the traffic laws of this state;
(C) highway signs, signals, and markings that
regulate, warn, or direct traffic; and
(D) the issues commonly associated with motor
vehicle accidents, including poor decision-making, risk taking,
impaired driving, distraction, speed, failure to use a safety belt,
driving at night, failure to yield the right-of-way, and using a
wireless communication device while operating a vehicle.
(c) A course approved under Subsection (a)(2) may be offered
as an online course.
(d) A driving safety course or a drug and alcohol driving
awareness program may not be approved as a driver education course
under Subsection (a)(2).
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for the issuance of a driver's license filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application for the issuance of
a driver's license filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date of the filing, and that law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect March 1, 2010.
* * * * *