By: Carter H.B. No. 3815
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the suspension of a person's driver's license or permit
on conviction of a fifth offense relating to the operating of a
motor vehicle while intoxicated.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 49.09, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(i) Notwithstanding any other law, if it is shown at the
trial of a person convicted of an offense under Section 49.04,
49.045, 49.07, or 49.08 relating to the operating of a motor vehicle
while intoxicated that the person has been previously convicted
four or more times of any of those offenses, the court shall order
the Department of Public Safety to suspend the person's driver's
license or permit for a period of 10 years, or, if the person does
not have a license or permit, to deny the issuance of a license or
permit to the person until the 10th anniversary of the date of the
order. To the extent of a conflict between this subsection and
Section 13, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or
Subchapter O, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, this subsection
controls.
SECTION 2. Sections 13(g), (j), and (k), Article 42.12,
Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(g) A jury that recommends community supervision for a
person convicted of an offense under Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal
Code, may recommend that any driver's license issued to the
defendant under Chapter 521, Transportation Code, not be suspended.
This subsection does not apply to a person:
(1) who is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b),
Penal Code, and subject to Section 49.09(h) of that code; or
(2) whose driver's license or permit is the subject of
a court order issued under Section 49.09(i), Penal Code.
(j) The judge shall require a defendant who is punished
under Section 49.09, Penal Code, as a condition of community
supervision, to attend and successfully complete an educational
program for repeat offenders approved by the Texas Commission on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug
Abuse shall adopt rules and shall monitor, coordinate, and provide
training to persons providing the educational programs. The Texas
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is responsible for the
administration of the certification of approved educational
programs and may charge a nonrefundable application fee for initial
certification of approval or for renewal of the certification. The
judge may waive the educational program requirement only if the
defendant by a motion in writing shows good cause. In determining
good cause, the judge may consider the defendant's school and work
schedule, the defendant's health, the distance that the defendant
must travel to attend an educational program, and the fact that
[whether] the defendant resides out of state, has no valid driver's
license, or does not have access to transportation. The judge shall
set out the finding of good cause in the judgment. If a defendant is
required, as a condition of community supervision, to attend an
educational program, the court clerk shall immediately report that
fact to the Department of Public Safety, on a form prescribed by the
department, for inclusion in the defendant's driving record. The
report must include the beginning date of the defendant's community
supervision. On the defendant's successful completion of the
educational program for repeat offenders, the defendant's
instructor shall give notice to the Department of Public Safety for
inclusion in the defendant's driving record and to the community
supervision and corrections department. The community supervision
and corrections department shall then forward the notice to the
court clerk for filing. If the Department of Public Safety does not
receive notice that a defendant required to complete an educational
program has successfully completed the program for repeat offenders
within the period required by the judge, as shown on department
records, the department shall revoke the defendant's driver's
license, permit, or privilege or prohibit the defendant from
obtaining a license or permit, as provided by Sections 521.344(e)
and (f), Transportation Code.
(k) Notwithstanding Sections 521.344(d)-(i),
Transportation Code, if the judge, under Subsection (h) or (j) of
this section, permits or requires a defendant punished under
Section 49.09, Penal Code, to attend an educational program as a
condition of community supervision, or waives the required
attendance for such a program, and the defendant has previously
been required to attend such a program, or the required attendance
at the program had been waived, the judge, unless the person's
driver's license or permit is the subject of a court order issued
under Section 49.09(i), Penal Code, nonetheless shall order the
suspension of the driver's license, permit, or operating privilege
of that person for a period determined by the judge according to the
following schedule:
(1) not less than 90 days or more than 365 days, if the
defendant is convicted under Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal Code;
(2) not less than 180 days or more than two years, if
the defendant is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal
Code; or
(3) not less than one year or more than two years, if
the person is convicted of a second or subsequent offense under
Sections 49.04-49.08, Penal Code, committed within five years of
the date on which the most recent preceding offense was committed.
SECTION 3. Section 521.202, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The department may not issue a license to a person whose
license or permit is the subject of a court order issued under
Section 49.09(i), Penal Code, until the 10th anniversary of the
date of the order.
SECTION 4. Section 521.248, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), the [The] person
may not operate a motor vehicle for more than four hours in any
24-hour period, except that on a showing of necessity the court may
allow the person to drive for any period determined by the court
that does not exceed 12 hours in any 24-hour period.
(b-1) A person whose license was suspended under Section
49.09(i), Penal Code, may not operate a motor vehicle for more than
four hours in any 24-hour period, except that on a showing of
necessity the court may allow the person to drive for any period
determined by the court that does not exceed nine hours in any
24-hour period.
SECTION 5. Sections 521.344(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 521.342(b) and 521.345,
and by Subsections (d)-(i), if a person is convicted of an offense
under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07, Penal Code, the license
suspension:
(1) begins on a date set by the court that is not
earlier than the date of the conviction or later than the 30th day
after the date of the conviction, as determined by the court; and
(2) continues for a period set by the court according
to the following schedule:
(A) not less than 90 days or more than one year,
if the person is punished under Section 49.04, 49.045, or 49.07,
Penal Code, except that if the person's license is suspended for a
second or subsequent offense under Section 49.07 committed within
five years of the date on which the most recent preceding offense
was committed, the suspension continues for a period of one year;
(B) not less than 180 days or more than two years,
if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code;
[or]
(C) not less than one year or more than two years,
if the person is punished under Section 49.09(a) or (b), Penal Code,
and is subject to Section 49.09(h) of that code; or
(D) 10 years, if the person's driver's license or
permit is the subject of a court order issued under Section
49.09(i), Penal Code.
(b) Except as provided by Section 521.342(b), if a person is
convicted of an offense under Section 49.08, Penal Code, the
license suspension:
(1) begins on a date set by the court that is not
earlier than the date of the conviction or later than the 30th day
after the date of the conviction, as determined by the court; and
(2) continues for a period set by the court according
to the following schedule:
(A) [of] not less than 180 days or more than two
years, except that if the person's license is suspended for a second
or subsequent offense under Section 49.08, Penal Code, committed
within 10 years of the date on which the most recent preceding
offense was committed, the suspension continues for a period set by
the court of not less than one year or more than two years; or
(B) 10 years, if the person's driver's license or
permit is the subject of a court order issued under Section
49.09(i), Penal Code.
SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the trial of an offense committed on or after the effective date
of this Act. The trial of an offense committed before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.