Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2157 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R3009 JXC-F
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2157
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to parking privileges for people with disabilities;
8	8	authorizing a fee; amending dismissal procedures for a criminal
9	9	offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Code of Criminal
12	12	Procedure, is amended by adding Article 45.0512 to read as follows:
13	13	Art. 45.0512. DISABLED PARKING COURSE DISMISSAL
14	14	PROCEDURES. (a) This article applies only to an alleged offense
15	15	that:
16	16	(1) is within the jurisdiction of a justice court or a
17	17	municipal court; and
18	18	(2) is defined by Section 681.011, Transportation
19	19	Code.
20	20	(b) The judge may require the defendant to successfully
21	21	complete a disabled parking course approved by the political
22	22	subdivision in which the alleged offense occurred if:
23	23	(1) the defendant has not completed a disabled parking
24	24	course approved by the political subdivision within the 12 months
25	25	preceding the date of the offense; and
26	26	(2) the defendant enters a plea under Article 45.021
27	27	in person or in writing of no contest or guilty on or before the
28	28	answer date on the notice to appear and:
29	29	(A) presents in person or by counsel to the court
30	30	a request to take a course; or
31	31	(B) sends to the court by certified mail, return
32	32	receipt requested, postmarked on or before the answer date on the
33	33	notice to appear, a written request to take a course.
34	34	(c) The court shall enter judgment on the defendant's plea
35	35	of no contest or guilty at the time the plea is made, defer
36	36	imposition of the judgment, and allow the defendant 90 days to
37	37	successfully complete the approved disabled parking course and
38	38	present to the court:
39	39	(1) a certificate, in a form approved by the political
40	40	subdivision that approved the course, of completion of the disabled
41	41	parking course; and
42	42	(2) confirmation from the political subdivision in
43	43	which the alleged offense occurred that the defendant was not
44	44	taking a disabled parking course approved by that subdivision under
45	45	this article on the date the request to take the course was made and
46	46	had not completed such a course within the 12 months preceding the
47	47	date of the offense.
48	48	(d) A request to take a disabled parking course made at or
49	49	before the time and at the place at which a defendant is required to
50	50	appear in court is an appearance in compliance with the defendant's
51	51	promise to appear.
52	52	(e) In addition to court costs and fees authorized or
53	53	imposed by a law of this state and applicable to the offense, the
54	54	court may require a defendant requesting a course under Subsection
55	55	(b) to pay an administrative fee set by the court to cover the cost
56	56	of administering this article at an amount of not more than $10.
57	57	(f) A defendant who requests but does not take a course is
58	58	not entitled to a refund of the fee.
59	59	(g) Fees collected by a municipal court shall be deposited
60	60	in the municipal treasury. Fees collected by another court shall be
61	61	deposited in the county treasury of the county in which the court is
62	62	located.
63	63	(h) If a defendant requesting a course under this article
64	64	fails to comply with Subsection (c), the court shall:
65	65	(1) notify the defendant in writing, mailed to the
66	66	address on file with the court or appearing in the notice to appear,
67	67	of that failure; and
68	68	(2) require the defendant to appear at the time and
69	69	place stated in the notice to show cause why the evidence was not
70	70	timely submitted to the court.
71	71	(i) If the defendant fails to appear at the time and place
72	72	stated in the notice under Subsection (h), or appears at the time
73	73	and place stated in the notice but does not show good cause for the
74	74	defendant's failure to comply with Subsection (c), the court shall
75	75	enter an adjudication of guilt and impose sentence.
76	76	(j) On a defendant's showing of good cause for failure to
77	77	furnish evidence to the court, the court may allow an extension of
78	78	time during which the defendant may present a certificate of course
79	79	completion as evidence that the defendant successfully completed
80	80	the disabled parking course.
81	81	(k) When a defendant complies with Subsection (c), the court
82	82	shall remove the judgment and dismiss the charge.
83	83	(l) The court may dismiss only one charge for each
84	84	completion of a course.
85	85	(m) An order of deferral under Subsection (c) terminates any
86	86	liability under a bail bond or appearance bond given for the charge.
87	87	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Government Code, is
88	88	amended by adding Section 103.036 to read as follows:
89	89	Sec. 103.036. ADDITIONAL FEES IN CERTAIN CRIMINAL CASES:
90	90	CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. An accused or defendant shall pay, if
91	91	ordered by the court or otherwise required, in addition to any other
92	92	fees or costs an administrative fee not to exceed $10 for requesting
93	93	a disabled parking course to cover the cost of administering
94	94	Article 45.0512(e), Code of Criminal Procedure.
95	95	SECTION 3. Section 681.002(c), Transportation Code, is
96	96	amended to read as follows:
97	97	(c) The department shall furnish [the disabled parking
98	98	placards] to each county assessor-collector:
99	99	(1) disabled parking placards; and
100	100	(2) a standard form, in paper or electronic form, that
101	101	provides instructions to a recipient of a disabled parking placard
102	102	on the rules for using the placard.
103	103	SECTION 4. Chapter 681, Transportation Code, is amended by
104	104	adding Section 681.0041 to read as follows:
105	105	Sec. 681.0041. RETURN OF PARKING PLACARD. (a) A person who
106	106	receives a disabled parking placard shall return the placard to the
107	107	county assessor-collector that issued the placard, or the county
108	108	assessor-collector of the county in which the person resides, if
109	109	the placard is unexpired and the person ceases to have a disability
110	110	that makes the person eligible for the placard. The person must
111	111	return the placard not later than the 30th day after the date the
112	112	person ceases to have a disability that makes the person eligible
113	113	for the placard.
114	114	(b) A decedent's personal representative, as defined by
115	115	Section 22.031, Estates Code, or next of kin, if any, shall return
116	116	an unexpired disabled parking placard issued to the decedent to the
117	117	county assessor-collector that issued the placard, or the county
118	118	assessor-collector of the county in which the decedent resided, not
119	119	later than the 30th day after the date the decedent died.
120	120	(c) A county assessor-collector that receives a disabled
121	121	parking placard shall notify the department of the return.
122	122	SECTION 5. Section 681.005, Transportation Code, is amended
123	123	to read as follows:
124	124	Sec. 681.005. DUTIES OF COUNTY ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR. (a)
125	125	Each county assessor-collector shall send to the department each
126	126	fee collected under Section 681.003, to be deposited in the Texas
127	127	Department of Motor Vehicles fund to defray the cost of providing
128	128	the disabled parking placard.
129	129	(b) Each county assessor-collector shall provide to each
130	130	person or institution issued a disabled parking placard under this
131	131	chapter by the assessor-collector the instruction form created by
132	132	the department under Section 681.002.
133	133	SECTION 6. Section 681.010, Transportation Code, is amended
134	134	by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
135	135	(c) A charge filed under this section may be filed manually
136	136	or in an electronically secure format.
137	137	SECTION 7. Section 681.0101, Transportation Code, is
138	138	amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) and amending
139	139	Subsection (b) to read as follows:
140	140	(a-1) A charge filed under this section may be filed
141	141	manually or in an electronically secure format.
142	142	(b) A person appointed under this section must:
143	143	(1) be a United States citizen of good moral character
144	144	who has not been convicted of a felony;
145	145	(2) take and subscribe to an oath of office that the
146	146	political subdivision prescribes; and
147	147	(3) successfully complete a training program of at
148	148	least four hours in length developed or approved by the political
149	149	subdivision.
150	150	(b-1) A training program described by Subsection (b) must
151	151	include:
152	152	(1) information on laws governing parking for people
153	153	with disabilities;
154	154	(2) information on the powers, rights, and
155	155	responsibilities of a person appointed under this section;
156	156	(3) instructions directing a person appointed under
157	157	this section not to confront suspected violators of laws governing
158	158	parking for people with disabilities; and
159	159	(4) procedures to report suspected violations of laws
160	160	governing parking for people with disabilities.
161	161	SECTION 8. Chapter 681, Transportation Code, is amended by
162	162	adding Section 681.014 to read as follows:
163	163	Sec. 681.014. DISPOSITION OF FINES. Notwithstanding
164	164	Section 542.402, a political subdivision that collects fines for
165	165	violations of Section 681.011 may use not more than 40 percent of
166	166	the fine revenue to:
167	167	(1) provide a community education and awareness
168	168	program about parking for people with disabilities; and
169	169	(2) establish an advisory body in the political
170	170	subdivision, composed of members at least half of whom have a
171	171	disability or represent a nonprofit organization that serves the
172	172	needs of people with disabilities.
173	173	SECTION 9. Article 45.0512, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
174	174	added by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after
175	175	the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
176	176	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
177	177	date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
178	178	effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
179	179	was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
180	180	of the offense occurred before that date.
181	181	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.