83R7939 VOO-F
By: Phillips H.B. No. 3837
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to driver's licenses and accident crash reports of the
Department of Public Safety.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 521.101, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
(l) The personal identification certificate must include a
photograph of the entire face of the holder.
SECTION 2. Section 521.121(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The driver's license must include:
(1) a distinguishing number assigned by the department
to the license holder;
(2) a [color] photograph of the entire face of the
holder;
(3) the full name and date of birth of the holder;
(4) a brief description of the holder; and
(5) the license holder's residence address or, for a
license holder using the procedure under Subsection (c), the street
address of the courthouse in which the license holder or license
holder's spouse serves as a federal judge or state judge.
SECTION 3. Section 521.148, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) This section does not apply to a person who has held or
holds a driver's license issued by this state or another state that
includes an authorization to operate a motorcycle.
SECTION 4. Subchapter H, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.1602 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.1602. EXCEPTION TO DRIVER EDUCATION REQUIREMENT
FOR LICENSED NONRESIDENTS. Section 521.1601 does not apply to a
person who holds a license issued by another state or other foreign
jurisdiction.
SECTION 5. Section 521.308, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsections (b) and (e) to
read as follows:
(a-1) The department may appeal if a presiding officer did
not sustain the suspension or revocation of a driver's license
under this subchapter.
(b) To appeal the decision of the presiding officer, the
person or the department must file a petition not later than the
30th day after the date on which the department order was entered in
the county court at law of the county in which the person resides,
or, if there is no county court at law, in the county court. The
person must send a file-stamped copy of the petition, certified by
the clerk of the court in which the petition is filed, to the
department at the agency's headquarters in Austin by certified
mail. The department shall send a file-stamped copy of the petition
to the person, certified by the clerk of the court in which the
petition is filed, at the person's address of record with the
department.
(e) A trial on appeal is a trial de novo, and the person or
the department has the right to trial by jury.
SECTION 6. Section 522.030(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A commercial driver's license must:
(1) be marked "Commercial Driver License" or "CDL";
(2) be, to the extent practicable, tamper-proof; and
(3) include:
(A) the name and mailing address of the person to
whom it is issued;
(B) the person's [color] photograph;
(C) a physical description of the person,
including sex, height, and eye color;
(D) the person's date of birth;
(E) a number or identifier the department
considers appropriate;
(F) the person's signature;
(G) each class of commercial motor vehicle that
the person is authorized to drive, with any endorsements or
restrictions;
(H) the name of this state; and
(I) the dates between which the license is valid.
SECTION 7. Section 522.034, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) This section does not apply to a person who has held or
holds a driver's license issued by this state or another state that
includes an authorization to operate a motorcycle.
SECTION 8. Section 550.064, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The department may not record an accident in the driving
record of a person who is employed as a peace officer, firefighter,
or emergency medical services employee of this state, a political
subdivision of this state, or a special-purpose district that
occurs while the peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical
services employee is driving an official vehicle in the course and
scope of the license holder's official duties, if:
(1) the traffic accident resulted in damages to
property of less than $1,000; or
(2) an investigation of the accident by a peace
officer, other than a peace officer involved in the accident,
determines that the peace officer, firefighter, or emergency
medical services employee involved in the accident was not at
fault.
SECTION 9. Section 703.003, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 703.003. NONRESIDENT VIOLATOR COMPACT ADMINISTRATOR.
[(a) The office of nonresident violator compact administrator is
created.
[(b)] The public safety director or a designee of the public
safety director [governor] shall serve as [appoint] the compact
administrator [with the advice and consent of the senate to a
two-year term that expires on February 1 of each odd-numbered
year].
[(c) The compact administrator is entitled to compensation
and reimbursement for expenses as provided by legislative
appropriation.]
SECTION 10. Section 521.1601, Transportation Code, as added
by Chapter 1413 (S.B. 1317), Acts of the 81st Legislature, Regular
Session, 2009, is repealed.
SECTION 11. Section 521.042(c), Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 12. The changes in law made by Section 521.101(l),
Transportation Code, as added by this Act, and Sections 521.121(a)
and 522.030(a), Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, apply
only to a personal identification certificate, driver's license, or
commercial driver's license issued or renewed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A personal identification certificate,
driver's license, or commercial driver's license issued or renewed
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the license or certificate was issued, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. Section 521.308, Transportation Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a suspension or revocation
issued by the department on or after the effective date of this Act.
A suspension or revocation issued before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the suspension or
revocation was issued, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 14. Not later than December 31, 2013, the public
safety director of the Department of Public Safety or a designee of
the director shall replace the governor's appointee as the compact
administrator as required by Section 703.003, Transportation Code,
as amended by this Act.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.