| 1 | 1 | | By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 588 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 2011; |
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| 3 | 3 | | April 20, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Transportation and Homeland Security; May 17, 2011, reported |
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| 5 | 5 | | favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 17, 2011, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to surcharges under the Driver Responsibility Program. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 708.157(b), Transportation Code, is |
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| 14 | 14 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) The department by rule shall [may] offer a holder of a |
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| 16 | 16 | | driver's license on which a surcharge has been assessed an |
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| 17 | 17 | | incentive for compliance with the law and efforts at |
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| 18 | 18 | | rehabilitation, including a reduction of a surcharge or a decrease |
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| 19 | 19 | | in the length of an installment plan. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 708, Transportation Code, |
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| 21 | 21 | | is amended by adding Section 708.159 to read as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | Sec. 708.159. ADVANCE PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES. (a) The |
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| 23 | 23 | | department shall offer an option for a single up-front payment to a |
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| 24 | 24 | | person who is assessed an annual surcharge under this chapter to |
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| 25 | 25 | | allow the person to pay in advance the total amount that will be |
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| 26 | 26 | | owed for the 36-month period for which the surcharge will be |
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| 27 | 27 | | assessed. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) Notice under Section 708.151 of an initial surcharge |
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| 29 | 29 | | imposed under this chapter must notify the driver's license holder |
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| 30 | 30 | | of: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) the total amount the person will owe for the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 36-month period for which the surcharge will be assessed; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) the availability of the advance payment option |
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| 34 | 34 | | under this section. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) If a person makes a single up-front payment under this |
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| 36 | 36 | | section in the amount specified in the notice under Subsection |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b)(1) and the person is not, in the 36-month period for which the |
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| 38 | 38 | | person made the up-front payment, subsequently convicted of an |
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| 39 | 39 | | offense requiring a surcharge or an increase in the amount due to |
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| 40 | 40 | | the department, the department is not required to: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) take any further action under Section 708.053, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 708.102, 708.103, or 708.104, as applicable; or |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) annually notify the person of the assessment of |
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| 44 | 44 | | the surcharge under Section 708.151. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 3. Section 708.159, Transportation Code, as added |
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| 46 | 46 | | by this Act, applies to any total surcharge amounts owed by a person |
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| 47 | 47 | | for a 36-month period under Chapter 708, Transportation Code, |
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| 48 | 48 | | regardless of whether the initial annual surcharge was assessed |
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| 49 | 49 | | before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 51 | 51 | | * * * * * |
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