Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB132 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	82R22313 VOO-D
2	2	By: Gallego H.B. No. 132
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 132:
4	4	By: Fletcher C.S.H.B. No. 132
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the issuance of a driver's license to a person who is
10	10	younger than 24 years of age and who has not obtained a high school
11	11	diploma or its equivalent.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 521.201, Transportation Code, is amended
14	14	to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 521.201. LICENSE INELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. (a) The
16	16	department may not issue any license to a person who:
17	17	(1) is under 15 years of age;
18	18	(2) is under 18 years of age unless the person complies
19	19	with the requirements imposed by Section 521.204;
20	20	(3) is shown to be addicted to the use of alcohol, a
21	21	controlled substance, or another drug that renders a person
22	22	incapable of driving;
23	23	(4) holds a driver's license issued by this state or
24	24	another state or country that is revoked, canceled, or under
25	25	suspension;
26	26	(5) has been determined by a judgment of a court to be
27	27	totally incapacitated or incapacitated to act as the operator of a
28	28	motor vehicle unless the person has, by the date of the license
29	29	application, been:
30	30	(A) restored to capacity by judicial decree; or
31	31	(B) released from a hospital for the mentally
32	32	incapacitated on a certificate by the superintendent or
33	33	administrator of the hospital that the person has regained
34	34	capacity;
35	35	(6) the department determines to be afflicted with a
36	36	mental or physical disability or disease that prevents the person
37	37	from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor
38	38	vehicle while operating the vehicle on a highway, except that a
39	39	person may not be refused a license because of a physical defect if
40	40	common experience shows that the defect does not incapacitate a
41	41	person from safely operating a motor vehicle;
42	42	(7) has been reported by a court under Section
43	43	521.3452 for failure to appear unless the court has filed an
44	44	additional report on final disposition of the case; [or]
45	45	(8) has been reported by a court for failure to appear
46	46	or default in payment of a fine for a misdemeanor that is not
47	47	covered under Subdivision (7) and that is punishable by a fine only,
48	48	including a misdemeanor under a municipal ordinance, committed by a
49	49	person who was under 17 years of age at the time of the alleged
50	50	offense, unless the court has filed an additional report on final
51	51	disposition of the case; or
52	52	(9) except as provided by Section 521.207, is younger
53	53	than 24 years of age and:
54	54	(A) has not obtained a high school diploma or its
55	55	equivalent; or
56	56	(B) is a student:
57	57	(i) enrolled in a public school or private
58	58	school, including a home school, who attended school for at least 80
59	59	days in the fall or spring semester preceding the date of the
60	60	driver's license application; or
61	61	(ii) who has been enrolled for at least 45
62	62	days, and is enrolled as of the date of the application, in a
63	63	program to prepare persons to pass the high school equivalency
64	64	exam.
65	65	(b) Subsection (a)(9) does not apply to the renewal of a
66	66	license issued before January 1, 2012.
67	67	SECTION 2. Subchapter J, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
68	68	is amended by adding Section 521.207 to read as follows:
69	69	Sec. 521.207. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS WITHOUT HIGH
70	70	SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR EQUIVALENT. (a) The department may issue a
71	71	restricted license to an applicant who is younger than 24 years of
72	72	age and who has not obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent
73	73	that allows the holder to travel between the holder's residence and
74	74	another place for the purpose of:
75	75	(1) school;
76	76	(2) work;
77	77	(3) any school-sponsored educational or athletic
78	78	activity;
79	79	(4) any non-school-sponsored community service or
80	80	volunteer activity;
81	81	(5) religious services;
82	82	(6) essential household duties, including obtaining
83	83	child care; and
84	84	(7) obtaining emergency medical care.
85	85	(b) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
86	86	section, including:
87	87	(1) defining types of acceptable documentation of
88	88	obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent, including
89	89	documentation from the applicant's parent or a person standing in
90	90	parental relation; and
91	91	(2) designing a license with a marking to indicate the
92	92	restricted status described by this section.
93	93	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2012.