By: Carona S.B. No. 512
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing the Department of Public Safety of the
State of Texas to establish a driver record monitoring pilot
program and enter into contracts for the periodic reporting of
certain information in the department's driver's license files;
providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.060 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.060. DRIVER RECORD MONITORING PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) The department by rule may establish a driver record
monitoring pilot program. The term of the pilot program may not
exceed one year.
(b) Under the pilot program, the department may enter into a
contract with a person to provide driver record monitoring
services, as described by Subsection (c), and certain information
from the department's driver's license records to the person, if the
person:
(1) is an employer, an insurer, an insurance support
organization, an employer support organization, or an entity that
self-insures its motor vehicles; and
(2) is eligible to receive the information under
Chapter 730.
(c) A contract entered into by the department must require:
(1) the department, during the term of the contract,
to:
(A) monitor the driver record of each holder of a
driver's license issued by the department that is requested by the
person with whom the department has contracted;
(B) identify any change in the status of a
driver's license or any conviction for a traffic offense reported
to the department during the monitoring period; and
(C) periodically, as specified in the contract,
provide reports of those individuals identified as having a change
in status or convictions to the person with whom the department has
contracted; and
(2) the person with whom the department has
contracted:
(A) to purchase under Section 521.046 a copy of
the driver record of each individual identified in a report
provided under Subdivision (1)(C);
(B) to warrant that:
(i) the person will not directly or
indirectly disclose information received from the department under
the contract to a third party without the express written consent of
the department, except as required by law or legal process; and
(ii) if a disclosure is required by law or
legal process, the person will immediately notify the department so
that the department may seek to oppose, limit, or restrict the
required disclosure; and
(C) if the person is an insurance support
organization, to warrant that the person will not seek to obtain
information about a holder of a driver's license under the contract
unless the license holder is insured by a client of the
organization, and that the person will provide the department with
the name of each client to whom the insurance support organization
provides information received from the department under the
contract.
(d) The attorney general may file a suit against a person
with whom the department has contracted under this section for:
(1) injunctive relief to prevent or restrain the
person from violating a term of the contract or from directly or
indirectly disclosing information received from the department
under the contract in a manner that violates the terms of the
contract; or
(2) a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,000
for each disclosure in violation of those terms.
(e) If the attorney general brings an action against a
person under Subsection (d) and an injunction is granted against
the person or the person is found liable for a civil penalty, the
attorney general may recover reasonable expenses, court costs,
investigative costs, and attorney's fees. Each day a violation
continues or occurs is a separate violation for purposes of
imposing a penalty under Subsection (d).
(f) A violation of the terms of a contract entered into with
the department by the person with whom the department has
contracted is a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice
under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code.
(g) A civil action brought under this section shall be filed
in a district court:
(1) in Travis County; or
(2) in any county in which the violation occurred.
(h) A person with whom the department has contracted under
this section commits an offense if the person directly or
indirectly discloses information received from the department
under the contract in a manner that violates the terms of the
contract. An offense under this subsection is a Class B
misdemeanor. If conduct constituting an offense under this
subsection also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this subsection, the other law, or both.
(i) The department shall impose a fee on each person with
whom the department contracts under this section for the services
provided by the department under the contract. The fee must be
reasonable and be not less than the amount necessary to allow the
department to recover all reasonable costs to the department
associated with entering into the contract and providing services
to the person under the contract, including direct, indirect, and
administrative costs and costs related to the development and
deployment of the pilot program.
(j) The department may establish a reasonable deadline by
which a person must apply to enter into a contract with the
department under this section and may not enter into a contract with
a person who fails to apply before that deadline.
(k) To the fullest extent practicable, the services of the
department under a contract entered into under this section shall
be provided by, through, or in conjunction with the interactive
system established under Section 521.055.
(l) At the conclusion of the term of the pilot program, and
on the recommendation of the department, the commission may
authorize the department to implement the pilot program as a
permanent program.
(m) Before the department recommends that the pilot program
be implemented as a permanent program, the department shall submit
to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and each member of the legislature a report that
contains an analysis of the scope, effectiveness, and cost benefits
of the pilot program. The report must include:
(1) a list of each insurance support organization with
which the department has contracted under this section; and
(2) a list of each client to whom the insurance support
organization has provided information received from the department
under this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.