Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB784 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R4946 JD-D
2	2	By: Hegar S.B. No. 784
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the suspension of a driver's license by the Texas
8	8	Department of Public Safety.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 521.341, Transportation Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 521.341. REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOMATIC LICENSE
13	13	SUSPENSION. Except as provided by Sections 521.344(d)-(i), a
14	14	license is automatically suspended on final conviction of the
15	15	license holder of:
16	16	(1) an offense under Section 19.05, Penal Code,
17	17	committed as a result of the holder's criminally negligent
18	18	operation of a motor vehicle;
19	19	(2) an offense under Section 38.04, Penal Code, if the
20	20	holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense;
21	21	(3) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.08,
22	22	Penal Code;
23	23	(4) an offense under Section 49.07, Penal Code, if the
24	24	holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense;
25	25	(5) an offense punishable as a felony under the motor
26	26	vehicle laws of this state;
27	27	(6) an offense under Section 550.021;
28	28	(7) an offense under Section 521.451 or 521.453; or
29	29	(8) an offense under Section 19.04, Penal Code, if the
30	30	holder used a motor vehicle in the commission of the offense.
31	31	SECTION 2. Sections 521.342(a) and (b), Transportation
32	32	Code, are amended to read as follows:
33	33	(a) Except as provided by Section 521.344, the license of a
34	34	person who was under 21 years of age at the time of the offense,
35	35	other than an offense classified as a misdemeanor punishable by
36	36	fine only, is automatically suspended on conviction of:
37	37	(1) an offense under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07,
38	38	Penal Code, committed as a result of the introduction of alcohol
39	39	into the body;
40	40	(2) an offense under the Alcoholic Beverage Code,
41	41	other than an offense to which Section 106.071 of that code applies,
42	42	involving the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation,
43	43	or use of an alcoholic beverage;
44	44	(3) a misdemeanor offense under Chapter 481, Health
45	45	and Safety Code, for which Subchapter P does not require the
46	46	automatic suspension of the license;
47	47	(4) an offense under Chapter 483, Health and Safety
48	48	Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession,
49	49	transportation, or use of a dangerous drug; or
50	50	(5) an offense under Chapter 485, Health and Safety
51	51	Code, involving the manufacture, delivery, possession,
52	52	transportation, or use of an abusable volatile chemical.
53	53	(b) The department shall suspend for one year the license of
54	54	a person who is under 21 years of age and is convicted of an offense
55	55	under Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code,
56	56	regardless of whether the person is required to attend an
57	57	educational program under Section 13(h), Article 42.12, Code of
58	58	Criminal Procedure, that is designed to rehabilitate persons who
59	59	have operated motor vehicles while intoxicated, unless the person
60	60	is placed under community supervision under that article and is
61	61	required as a condition of the community supervision to not operate
62	62	a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with the device
63	63	described by Section 13(i) of that article. If the person is
64	64	required to attend such a program and does not complete the program
65	65	before the end of the person's suspension, the department shall
66	66	suspend the person's license or continue the suspension, as
67	67	appropriate, until the department receives proof that the person
68	68	has successfully completed the program. On the person's successful
69	69	completion of the program, the person's instructor shall give
70	70	notice to the department and to the community supervision and
71	71	corrections department in the manner provided by Section 13(h),
72	72	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
73	73	SECTION 3. Sections 521.344(a), (c), and (i),
74	74	Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
75	75	(a) Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b) and 521.345,
76	76	and by Subsections (d)-(i), if a person is convicted of an offense
77	77	under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07, Penal Code, the license
78	78	suspension:
79	79	(1) begins on a date set by the court that is not
80	80	earlier than the date of the conviction or later than the 30th day
81	81	after the date of the conviction, as determined by the court; and
82	82	(2) continues for a period set by the court according
83	83	to the following schedule:
84	84	(A) not less than 90 days or more than one year,
85	85	if the person is punished under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07,
86	86	Penal Code, except that if the person's license is suspended for a
87	87	second or subsequent offense under Section 49.07 committed within
88	88	five years of the date on which the most recent preceding offense
89	89	was committed, the suspension continues for a period of one year;
90	90	(B) not less than 180 days or more than two years,
91	91	if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code;
92	92	or
93	93	(C) not less than one year or more than two years,
94	94	if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code,
95	95	and is subject to Section 49.09(h) of that code.
96	96	(c) The court shall credit toward the period of suspension a
97	97	suspension imposed on the person for refusal to give a specimen
98	98	under Chapter 724 if the refusal followed an arrest for the same
99	99	offense for which the court is suspending the person's license
100	100	under this chapter. The court may not extend the credit to a
101	101	person:
102	102	(1) who has been previously convicted of an offense
103	103	under Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code; or
104	104	(2) whose period of suspension is governed by Section
105	105	521.342(b).
106	106	(i) On the date that a suspension order under Section
107	107	521.343(c) is to expire, the period of suspension or the
108	108	corresponding period in which the department is prohibited from
109	109	issuing a license is automatically increased to two years unless
110	110	the department receives notice of successful completion of the
111	111	educational program as required by Section 13, Article 42.12, Code
112	112	of Criminal Procedure. At the time a person is convicted of an
113	113	offense under Section 49.04 or 49.045, Penal Code, the court shall
114	114	warn the person of the effect of this subsection. On the person's
115	115	successful completion of the program, the person's instructor shall
116	116	give notice to the department and to the community supervision and
117	117	corrections department in the manner required by Section 13,
118	118	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure. If the department
119	119	receives proof of completion after a period has been extended under
120	120	this subsection, the department shall immediately end the
121	121	suspension or prohibition.
122	122	SECTION 4. Sections 13(h) and (n), Article 42.12, Code of
123	123	Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
124	124	(h) If a person convicted of an offense under Sections
125	125	49.04-49.08, Penal Code, is placed on community supervision, the
126	126	judge shall require, as a condition of the community supervision,
127	127	that the defendant attend and successfully complete before the
128	128	181st day after the day community supervision is granted an
129	129	educational program jointly approved by the Texas Commission on
130	130	Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Department of Public Safety, the
131	131	Traffic Safety Section of the Texas Department of Transportation,
132	132	and the community justice assistance division of the Texas
133	133	Department of Criminal Justice designed to rehabilitate persons who
134	134	have driven while intoxicated. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and
135	135	Drug Abuse shall publish the jointly approved rules and shall
136	136	monitor, coordinate, and provide training to persons providing the
137	137	educational programs. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug
138	138	Abuse is responsible for the administration of the certification of
139	139	approved educational programs and may charge a nonrefundable
140	140	application fee for the initial certification of approval and for
141	141	renewal of a certificate. The judge may waive the educational
142	142	program requirement or may grant an extension of time to
143	143	successfully complete the program that expires not later than one
144	144	year after the beginning date of the person's community
145	145	supervision, however, if the defendant by a motion in writing shows
146	146	good cause. In determining good cause, the judge may consider but
147	147	is not limited to: the defendant's school and work schedule, the
148	148	defendant's health, the distance that the defendant must travel to
149	149	attend an educational program, and the fact that the defendant
150	150	resides out of state, has no valid driver's license, or does not
151	151	have access to transportation. The judge shall set out the finding
152	152	of good cause for waiver in the judgment. If a defendant is
153	153	required, as a condition of community supervision, to attend an
154	154	educational program or if the court waives the educational program
155	155	requirement, the court clerk shall immediately report that fact to
156	156	the Department of Public Safety, on a form prescribed by the
157	157	department, for inclusion in the person's driving record. If the
158	158	court grants an extension of time in which the person may complete
159	159	the program, the court clerk shall immediately report that fact to
160	160	the Department of Public Safety on a form prescribed by the
161	161	department. The report must include the beginning date of the
162	162	person's community supervision. Upon the person's successful
163	163	completion of the educational program, the person's instructor
164	164	shall give notice to the Department of Public Safety for inclusion
165	165	in the person's driving record and to the community supervision and
166	166	corrections department. The community supervision and corrections
167	167	department shall then forward the notice to the court clerk for
168	168	filing. If the Department of Public Safety does not receive notice
169	169	that a defendant required to complete an educational program has
170	170	successfully completed the program within the period required by
171	171	this section, as shown on department records, the department shall
172	172	revoke the defendant's driver's license, permit, or privilege or
173	173	prohibit the person from obtaining a license or permit, as provided
174	174	by Sections 521.344(e) and (f), Transportation Code. The
175	175	Department of Public Safety may not reinstate a license suspended
176	176	under this subsection unless the person whose license was suspended
177	177	makes application to the department for reinstatement of the
178	178	person's license and pays to the department a reinstatement fee of
179	179	$100 [$50]. The Department of Public Safety shall remit all fees
180	180	collected under this subsection to the comptroller for deposit in
181	181	the general revenue fund. This subsection does not apply to a
182	182	defendant if a jury recommends community supervision for the
183	183	defendant and also recommends that the defendant's driver's license
184	184	not be suspended.
185	185	(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or
186	186	other law, the judge who places on community supervision a
187	187	defendant who was [is] younger than 21 years of age at the time of
188	188	the offense and was convicted for an offense under Sections
189	189	49.04-49.08, Penal Code, shall:
190	190	(1) order that the defendant's driver's license be
191	191	suspended for 90 days beginning on the date that the person is
192	192	placed on community supervision; and
193	193	(2) require as a condition of community supervision
194	194	that the defendant not operate a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is
195	195	equipped with the device described by Subsection (i) of this
196	196	section.
197	197	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
198	198	521.341, 521.342, and 521.344, Transportation Code, and Section 13,
199	199	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to an offense
200	200	committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
201	201	of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
202	202	of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before the
203	203	effective date of this Act.
204	204	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.