84R31191 AJZ-D
By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1056
(Turner of Harris)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1056: No.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to penalties for certain criminal offenses regarding
operating a motor vehicle; imposing a fee and changing a surcharge.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.0265 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.0265. DISMISSAL OF DRIVING WITHOUT REQUIRED
LICENSE CHARGE. (a) A judge may dismiss a charge of operating a
motor vehicle without a driver's license under Section 521.021 if
the defendant obtains a driver's license not later than the 60th
working day after the date of the offense.
(b) The judge shall assess the defendant an administrative
fee not to exceed $50 when a charge is dismissed under Subsection
(a).
(c) This section does not apply to a charge of driving
without a commercial driver's license under Section 522.011.
SECTION 2. Section 521.343(c), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) Except as otherwise provided by Section 521.457(h), if
[If] the license holder is convicted of operating a motor vehicle
while the license to operate a motor vehicle is cancelled,
disqualified, suspended, revoked, or denied, the period is extended
for the same term as the original suspension or disqualification,
in addition to any penalty assessed under this chapter or Chapter
522.
SECTION 3. Section 521.457, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) The department may not extend the period a person's
driver's license is suspended, as provided by Section 521.343, for
a conviction of an offense described by Subsection (a)(2) if:
(1) the person has not been convicted of an offense
under this section in the 36-month period before the date of the
current offense; and
(2) at the time of the current offense the person's
license was suspended under Section 708.152.
SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 601, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 601.192 to read as follows:
Sec. 601.192. DISMISSAL OF CHARGE OF OPERATION OF MOTOR
VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY INSURANCE
REQUIREMENT. (a) A judge may dismiss a charge under Section
601.191 for a defendant who cannot establish financial
responsibility on the date of the offense if the defendant
establishes financial responsibility under Section 601.051 not
later than the 20th working day after the date of the offense.
(b) If the defendant establishes financial responsibility
under Subsection (a) through a motor vehicle liability insurance
policy that complies with Subchapter D, the policy must be prepaid
and valid for at least a six-month period.
(c) The judge shall assess the defendant an administrative
fee not to exceed $50 when a charge is dismissed under Subsection
(a).
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 708, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 708.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 708.004. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF COMMUNICATIONS.
Notwithstanding a provision of this chapter requiring a notice or
other communication to be sent by mail, the department may
electronically send the communication if the department obtains
consent from the person before electronically sending the
communication.
SECTION 6. Section 708.055, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 708.055. NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF FIFTH POINT. The
department shall notify the holder of a driver's license of the
assignment of a fifth point on that license by first class mail sent
to the person's most recent address as shown on the records of the
department or records obtained by the department from another
entity or service.
SECTION 7. Sections 708.102(b), (c), and (d),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The [Each year the] department shall assess a surcharge
on the license of a [each] person for each conviction [who during
the preceding 36-month period has been finally convicted] of an
offense relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated.
(c) The amount of a surcharge under this section is:
(1) $3,000 for the first conviction;
(2) $4,500 [$1,000 per year, except that the amount of
the surcharge is:
[(1) $1,500 per year] for a second or subsequent
conviction within a 36-month period; or
(3) $6,000 [and
[(2) $2,000] for a first or subsequent conviction if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that an analysis of a
specimen of the person's blood, breath, or urine showed an alcohol
concentration level of 0.16 or more at the time the analysis was
performed.
(d) A surcharge under this section [for the same conviction]
may not be assessed more than once for the same conviction [in more
than three years].
SECTION 8. Section 708.103, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 708.103. SURCHARGE FOR CONVICTION OF DRIVING WHILE
LICENSE INVALID OR WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) The
[Each year the] department shall assess a surcharge on the license
of each person who is [during the preceding 36-month period has
been] convicted of an offense under:
(1) Section [521.457,] 601.191[,] or 601.371; or
(2) Section 521.457, if the defendant has been
previously convicted one or more times of an offense under that
section.
(b) The amount of a surcharge under this section is $750
[$250 per year].
SECTION 9. Section 708.104, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 708.104. SURCHARGE FOR CONVICTION OF DRIVING WITHOUT
REQUIRED [VALID] LICENSE. (a) The [Each year the] department shall
assess a surcharge on the license of a person who is [during the
preceding 36-month period has been] convicted of an offense under
Section 521.021.
(b) The amount of a surcharge under this section is $300
[$100 per year].
(c) A surcharge under this section [for the same conviction]
may not be assessed more than once for the same conviction [in more
than three years].
SECTION 10. Section 708.105, Transportation Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The court shall notify a defendant charged with an
offense under a traffic law of this state or a political subdivision
of this state, in writing, at the time of the defendant's first
court appearance or as soon as possible on or after the date the
defendant pays a fine associated with the offense, whichever is
earlier, that a conviction may result in the assessment of a
surcharge under the driver responsibility program. The written
notification must include the statement described by Subsection
(a).
SECTION 11. Section 708.106, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 708.106. DEFERRAL OF SURCHARGES FOR DEPLOYED MILITARY
PERSONNEL. The department by rule shall establish a deferral
program for surcharges assessed under Section 708.103 or 708.104
against a person who is a member of the United States armed forces
on active duty deployed outside of the continental United States.
The program must:
(1) toll the surcharge payment [36-month] period while
the person is deployed; and
(2) defer assessment of surcharges against the person
until the date the person is no longer deployed for an offense
committed:
(A) before the person was deployed; or
(B) while the person is deployed.
SECTION 12. Section 708.151(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall send notices as required by
Subsection (b) to the holder of a driver's license when a surcharge
is assessed on that license. Each notice must:
(1) be sent by first class mail to:
(A) the person's most recent address as shown on
the records of the department or records obtained by the department
from another entity or service; or
(B) [to] the person's most recent forwarding
address on record with the United States Postal Service if it is
different;
(2) specify the date by which the surcharge must be
paid;
(3) state the total dollar amount of the surcharge
that must be paid, the number of monthly payments required under an
installment payment plan, and the minimum monthly payment required
for a person to enter and maintain an installment payment plan with
the department; and
(4) state the consequences of a failure to pay the
surcharge.
SECTION 13. Section 708.153, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 708.153. INSTALLMENT PAYMENT OF SURCHARGE. (a) The
department by rule shall provide for the payment of any [a]
surcharge assessed under this chapter in installments, including a
surcharge pending on September 1, 2015.
(b) A rule under this section:
(1) may not require a person to:
(A) pay surcharges that total $1,000 [$500] or
more over a period of less than 60 [36] consecutive months;
(B) pay surcharges that total more than $750
[$250] but not more than $999 [$499] over a period of less than 48
[24] consecutive months; or
(C) pay surcharges that total $749 [$249] or less
over a period of less than 36 [12] consecutive months; and
(2) may provide that if the person fails to make any
required monthly installment payment, the department may
reestablish the installment plan on receipt of a payment in the
amount equal to at least a required monthly installment payment.
SECTION 14. 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 15. Subchapter C, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 1001.1035 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.1035. DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM INFORMATION.
(a) The agency by rule shall require that information relating to
the driver responsibility program established under Chapter 708,
Transportation Code, and the surcharges assessed under that program
be included in the curriculum of any driver education course or
driving safety course.
(b) In developing rules under this section, the agency shall
consult with the department.
SECTION 16. Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 103.02135 and 103.02136 to read as
follows:
Sec. 103.02135. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASE:
TRANSPORTATION CODE. A defendant shall pay the following
administrative fee on dismissal of a charge of driving without a
required license (Sec. 521.0265, Transportation Code) . . . $50.
Sec. 103.02136. ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASE:
TRANSPORTATION CODE. A defendant shall pay the following
administrative fee on dismissal of a charge of operation of a motor
vehicle in violation of motor vehicle liability insurance
requirement (Sec. 601.192, Transportation Code) . . . $50.
SECTION 17. Section 708.159, Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 18. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
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 19. The change in law made by this Act to Section
708.158, Transportation Code, applies only to a surcharge assessed
on or after the effective date of this Act, including a surcharge
assessed for a conviction for an offense that occurred before the
effective date of this Act. The state is not required to refund a
surcharge collected before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.