| 1 | 1 | | By: Carona S.B. No. 329 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the automatic suspension of the driver's license of a |
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| 7 | 7 | | person convicted of certain organized crime offenses; providing |
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| 8 | 8 | | penalties. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 521.343, Transportation |
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| 11 | 11 | | Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b), 521.344(a), |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i), 521.345, 521.346, 521.3465, |
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| 14 | 14 | | [and] 521.351, and 521.352, a suspension under this subchapter is |
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| 15 | 15 | | for one year. |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter O, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, |
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| 17 | 17 | | is amended by adding Section 521.352 to read as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 521.352. SUSPENSION OR PROHIBITION FOR CERTAIN |
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| 19 | 19 | | ORGANIZED CRIME OFFENSES. (a) A person's license is automatically |
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| 20 | 20 | | suspended on conviction of the person for an offense under Chapter |
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| 21 | 21 | | 71, Penal Code. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) The department may not issue a driver's license to a |
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| 23 | 23 | | person convicted of an offense specified in Subsection (a) who, on |
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| 24 | 24 | | the date of the conviction, did not hold a license. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) The period of license suspension or prohibition under |
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| 26 | 26 | | this section begins on a date set by the court that is not earlier |
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| 27 | 27 | | than the date of conviction or later than the 30th day after the |
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| 28 | 28 | | date of conviction. The period of license suspension or |
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| 29 | 29 | | prohibition under this section expires on the first anniversary of |
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| 30 | 30 | | the date the suspension or prohibition began. |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 3. Section 521.457, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 32 | 32 | | by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f-2) to read as |
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| 33 | 33 | | follows: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (e) Except as provided by Subsections (f), [and] (f-1), and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (f-2), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (f-2) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this |
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| 37 | 37 | | section that the person operated a motor vehicle on a highway during |
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| 38 | 38 | | a period that the person's driver's license was suspended under |
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| 39 | 39 | | Section 521.352 or the person was prohibited from obtaining a |
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| 40 | 40 | | driver's license under that section, the offense is a Class A |
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| 41 | 41 | | misdemeanor. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies |
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| 43 | 43 | | only to an offense committed on or after September 1, 2009. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (b) An offense committed before September 1, 2009, is |
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| 45 | 45 | | covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the |
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| 46 | 46 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 47 | 47 | | this subsection, an offense was committed before September 1, 2009, |
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| 48 | 48 | | if any element of the offense was committed before that date. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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