H.B. No. 3050
AN ACT
relating to driver's and learner licenses and the issuance of
certain driver's licenses and identification certificates;
authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 521.001(a)(3), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Driver's license" means an authorization issued
by the department for the operation of a motor vehicle. The term
includes:
(A) a temporary license or learner license
[instruction permit]; and
(B) an occupational license.
SECTION 2. Sections 521.009(a), (a-1), and (c),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may establish a program for the provision
of renewal and duplicate driver's license, election identification
certificate, and personal identification certificate services in
counties and municipalities that enter into an agreement with the
department under Subsection (a-1).
(a-1) Under the program, the department may enter into an
agreement with the commissioners court of a county or the governing
body of a municipality to permit county or municipal employees to
provide services at a county or municipal office relating to the
issuance of renewal and duplicate driver's licenses, election
identification certificates, and personal identification
certificates, including:
(1) taking photographs;
(2) administering vision tests;
(3) updating a driver's license, election
identification certificate, or personal identification certificate
to change a name, address, or photograph;
(4) distributing and collecting information relating
to donations under Section 521.401;
(5) collecting fees; and
(6) performing other basic ministerial functions and
tasks necessary to issue renewal and duplicate driver's licenses,
election identification certificates, and personal identification
certificates.
(c) A participating county or municipality must remit to the
department for deposit as required by this chapter fees collected
for the issuance of a renewal or duplicate driver's license or
personal identification certificate.
SECTION 3. Section 521.0475(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) [or (c)], the
department shall provide a certified abstract of a complete driving
record of a license holder, for a fee of $20, to the license holder
or a person eligible to receive the information under Sections
730.007(a)(2)(A), (D), and (I).
SECTION 4. Sections 521.050(a) and (c), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In addition to the provisions of this subchapter
relating to the disclosure of driver's license information on an
individual, the department may provide a purchaser, in a format
prescribed by the department and acceptable to the purchaser, [with
a magnetic tape of] the names, addresses, and dates of birth of all
license holders that are contained in the department's basic
driver's license record file if the purchaser certifies in writing
that the purchaser is eligible to receive the information under
Chapter 730.
(c) The department shall impose and collect a fee of:
(1) $2,000 for the initial driver's license
information provided [each magnetic tape provided] under
Subsection (a); and
(2) if the department provides a weekly update of the
information [on the tape], $75 for each update.
SECTION 5. 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 6. Sections 521.1211(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "peace officer" has the meaning
assigned by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, except that
the term includes a special investigator as defined by Article
2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 521.121(a), the department by
rule shall adopt procedures for the issuance of a driver's license
to a peace officer that omits the license holder's actual residence
address and includes, as an alternative, an address that is [in the
municipality or county of the peace officer's residence and is]
acceptable to the department and is in the:
(1) municipality or county of the peace officer's
residence; or
(2) county of the peace officer's place of employment.
SECTION 7. Section 521.204(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department may not issue a Class A, B, or C driver's
license other than a hardship license to an applicant under 18 years
of age unless the applicant has held a learner license [an
instruction permit] or hardship license for at least six months
preceding the date of the application.
SECTION 8. The heading to Section 521.222, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.222. LEARNER LICENSE [INSTRUCTION PERMIT].
SECTION 9. Sections 521.222(d), (f), and (g),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) A learner license [An instruction permit] entitles the
holder to operate a type of motor vehicle on a highway while:
(1) the license [permit] is in the holder's
possession; and
(2) the holder is accompanied by a person occupying
the seat by the operator who:
(A) holds a license that qualifies the operator
to operate that type of vehicle;
(B) is 21 years of age or older; and
(C) has at least one year of driving experience.
(f) The department may issue a learner license [an
instruction permit] under this section to a person who is subject to
the registration requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure, and is otherwise eligible for the license [permit]. A
learner license [An instruction permit] issued under this
subsection must include a photograph of the person.
(g) A person who occupies the seat in a vehicle by a holder
of a learner license [an instruction permit] commits an offense if,
while the holder is operating the vehicle, the person:
(1) sleeps;
(2) is intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, Penal
Code; or
(3) is engaged in an activity that prevents the person
from observing and responding to the actions of the operator.
SECTION 10. Sections 521.271(a) and (a-3), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Each original driver's license, provisional license,
learner license [instruction permit], or occupational driver's
license issued to an applicant who is a citizen, national, or legal
permanent resident of the United States or a refugee or asylee
lawfully admitted into the United States expires as follows:
(1) except as provided by Section 521.2711, a driver's
license expires on the first birthday of the license holder
occurring after the sixth anniversary of the date of the
application;
(2) a provisional license expires on the 18th
birthday of the license holder;
(3) a learner license [an instruction permit] expires
on the 18th birthday of the license holder;
(4) an occupational driver's license expires on the
first anniversary of the court order granting the license; and
(5) unless an earlier date is otherwise provided, a
driver's license issued to a person whose residence or domicile is a
correctional facility or a parole facility expires on the first
birthday of the license holder occurring after the first
anniversary of the date of issuance.
(a-3) Each original provisional license or learner license
[instruction permit] issued to an applicant who is not a citizen,
national, or legal permanent resident of the United States or a
refugee or asylee lawfully admitted into the United States expires
on the earliest of:
(1) the 18th birthday of the license holder;
(2) the first birthday of the license holder occurring
after the date of the application; or
(3) the expiration of the license holder's lawful
presence in the United States as determined by the United States
agency responsible for citizenship and immigration in compliance
with federal law.
SECTION 11. Section 521.272(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a:
(1) [a] provisional license;
(2) learner license [an instruction permit] issued
under Section 521.222; or
(3) [a] hardship license issued under Section 521.223.
SECTION 12. Section 521.3451, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.3451. SUSPENSION OR DENIAL ON ORDER OF JUSTICE OR
MUNICIPAL COURT FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT; REINSTATEMENT. (a) The
department shall suspend or deny the issuance of a driver's license
or learner license [instruction permit] on receipt of an order to
suspend or deny the issuance of either [the] license [or permit]
from a justice or municipal court under Article 45.050, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
(b) The department shall reinstate a license [or permit]
suspended or reconsider a license [or permit] denied under
Subsection (a) on receiving notice from the justice or municipal
court that ordered the suspension or denial that the contemnor has
fully complied with the court's order.
SECTION 13. Sections 521.421(c) and (h), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The fee for issuance of a provisional license or learner
license [instruction permit] is $15.
(h) The fee for issuance or renewal of a driver's license, a
provisional license, a learner license [an instruction permit], or
a hardship license issued to a person subject to the registration
requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, is $20.
SECTION 14. Section 521.428, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.428. COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL FEE. A county or
municipality that provides services under an agreement described by
Section 521.009 may collect an additional fee of up to $5 for each
transaction provided that relates to driver's license and personal
identification certificate services only.
SECTION 15. Section 545.424(c), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) a person operating a motor vehicle while
accompanied in the manner required by Section 521.222(d)(2) for the
holder of a learner license [an instruction permit]; or
(2) a person licensed by the Federal Communications
Commission to operate a wireless communication device or a radio
frequency device.
SECTION 16. Sections 521.0475(c) and 521.222(b), (c), and
(e), Transportation Code, are repealed.
SECTION 17. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
521.121 and 521.1211, Transportation Code, apply only to a driver's
license issued or renewed on or after the effective date of this
Act. A driver's license issued or renewed before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the license was
issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3050 was passed by the House on May 9,
2017, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 1, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3050 on May 26, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 99, Nays 43,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3050 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor