84R7795 AJZ-D
By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 1795
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility for indigent status for purposes of the
driver responsibility program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 708.158(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall waive all surcharges assessed
under this chapter for a person who is indigent. For the purposes
of this section, a person is considered to be indigent if the
person:
(1) was determined to be indigent for the purpose of
appointing counsel under Article 26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure,
for the offense that is the basis for the surcharge, and the court
did not make a subsequent finding that the person had the ability to
pay, wholly or partly, the cost of the appointed counsel; or
(2) provides the evidence described by Subsection (b)
to the court.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
708.158, Transportation Code, applies to a surcharge pending on the
effective date of this Act, regardless of when the surcharge was
assessed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.