| 1 | 1 | | 87R9192 AJZ-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 3291 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the criminal penalty for reckless driving and to the |
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| 8 | 8 | | limitation on the authority to arrest a person for certain traffic |
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| 9 | 9 | | offenses punishable by fine only. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 543.004(a), Transportation Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) An officer shall issue a written notice to appear if: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) the offense charged is: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (A) speeding; |
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| 16 | 16 | | (B) the use of a wireless communication device |
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| 17 | 17 | | under Section 545.4251; [or] |
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| 18 | 18 | | (C) a violation of the open container law, |
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| 19 | 19 | | Section 49.031, Penal Code; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (D) a violation of signaling requirements under |
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| 21 | 21 | | Section 545.104, 545.105, 545.106, or 545.107; or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (E) reckless driving under Section 545.401, if |
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| 23 | 23 | | the offense is punishable by a fine only; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) the person makes a written promise to appear in |
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| 25 | 25 | | court as provided by Section 543.005. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 2. Section 545.401, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 27 | 27 | | by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as |
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| 28 | 28 | | follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an offense under |
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| 30 | 30 | | this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed |
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| 31 | 31 | | $200. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b-1) If an [An] offense under this section resulted in |
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| 33 | 33 | | bodily injury or property damage, the offense is a misdemeanor |
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| 34 | 34 | | punishable by: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) a fine not to exceed $200; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) confinement in county jail for not more than 30 |
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| 37 | 37 | | days; or |
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| 38 | 38 | | (3) both the fine and the confinement. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 40 | 40 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 41 | 41 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 42 | 42 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 43 | 43 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 44 | 44 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 45 | 45 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 46 | 46 | | before that date. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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