S.B. No. 181
AN ACT
relating to suspension of a driver's license for persons convicted
of certain offenses and the educational program required for
reinstatement of a license following certain convictions;
authorizing a fine.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. DISCRETIONARY LICENSE SUSPENSION
SECTION 1.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 102, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 102.0179 to read as
follows:
Art. 102.0179. FINE FOR CERTAIN DRUG AND TEXAS CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE ACT CONVICTIONS. (a) In this article, "convicted"
includes an adjudication under juvenile proceedings.
(b) In addition to any other fees and fines imposed under
this subchapter, a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor drug
offense as defined by Section 521.371, Transportation Code, whose
driver's license is not suspended under Section 521.372,
Transportation Code, as a result of that conviction, shall pay a
fine of $100.
(c) The court shall waive imposition of a fine under this
article if the defendant's driver's license is suspended under
Section 521.372, Transportation Code, or under another provision of
that code as a result of the conviction of:
(1) an offense described by Section 521.372(a),
Transportation Code; or
(2) another offense arising from the same criminal
episode.
(d) A fine imposed under this article is due regardless of
whether the defendant is granted community supervision in the case.
The court shall collect the fine under this article in the same
manner as court costs are collected in the case.
(e) A fine collected under this article shall be deposited
to the credit of the Texas mobility fund.
SECTION 1.02. The heading to Subchapter P, Chapter 521,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER P. [AUTOMATIC] SUSPENSION FOR CERTAIN DRUG OFFENSES
SECTION 1.03. Section 521.372, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.372. [AUTOMATIC] SUSPENSION OR[;] LICENSE DENIAL.
(a) A person's driver's license is automatically suspended on final
conviction of:
(1) an offense under the Controlled Substances Act;
(2) a felony drug offense; [or]
(3) a misdemeanor drug offense, if the person has been
previously convicted of a drug offense committed less than 36
months before the commission of the instant offense; or
(4) a felony under Chapter 481, Health and Safety
Code, that is not a drug offense.
(b) The department may not issue a driver's license to a
person convicted of an offense specified in Subsection (a) who, on
the date of the conviction, did not hold a driver's license.
(b-1) Except as provided by Subsection (a)(3), the court may
order that the department suspend the license of a person who holds
a license at the time of final conviction of a misdemeanor drug
offense if the court makes a written determination that the
suspension is in the interest of public safety.
(c) Except as provided by Section 521.374(b), the period of
suspension or license denial under this section is 90 [the 180] days
after the date of a final conviction[, and the period of license
denial is the 180 days after the date the person applies to the
department for reinstatement or issuance of a driver's license].
ARTICLE 2. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
SECTION 2.01. Section 521.374(a), Transportation Code, as
amended by Chapters 838 (S.B. 202), 851 (S.B. 1070), and 1004 (H.B.
642), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(a) A person whose license is suspended under Section
521.372 may:
(1) successfully complete [attend] an in-person or
online educational program, approved by the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation [Department of State Health Services]
under rules adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing and
Regulation [executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission] and the department, that is designed to educate persons
on the dangers of drug abuse; or
(2) successfully complete education on the dangers of
drug abuse approved by the Department of State Health Services as
equivalent to the educational program described by Subdivision (1),
while the person is a resident of a facility for the treatment of
drug abuse or chemical dependency, including:
(A) a substance abuse treatment facility or
substance abuse felony punishment facility operated by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice under Section 493.009, Government
Code;
(B) a community corrections facility, as defined
by Section 509.001, Government Code; or
(C) a chemical dependency treatment facility
licensed under Chapter 464, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2.02. Section 521.374(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The period of suspension or prohibition under Section
521.372(c) continues until the earlier of:
(1) the date [for an indefinite period until] the
individual successfully completes the in-person or online
educational program under Subsection (a)(1) or is released from the
residential treatment facility at which the individual
successfully completed equivalent education under Subsection
(a)(2), as applicable; or
(2) the second anniversary of the date the suspension
or prohibition was imposed.
SECTION 2.03. Section 521.375, Transportation Code, as
amended by Chapters 838 (S.B. 202) and 851 (S.B. 1070), Acts of the
84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 521.375. JOINT ADOPTION OF RULES. (a) The Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation and the department shall
jointly adopt rules for the qualification and approval of providers
of in-person and online educational programs under Section
521.374(a)(1) [521.374].
(a-1) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission and the department shall jointly adopt rules
for the qualification and approval of[:
[(1) providers of educational programs under Section
521.374(a)(1); and
[(2)] equivalent education provided in a residential
treatment facility described by Section 521.374(a)(2).
(b) The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shall
publish the jointly adopted rules under Subsection (a).
(c) The Department of State Health Services shall publish
the jointly adopted rules under Subsection (a-1).
SECTION 2.04. Section 521.376, Transportation Code, as
amended by Chapters 838 (S.B. 202) and 851 (S.B. 1070), Acts of the
84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 521.376. DUTIES OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND
REGULATION AND DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES; APPLICATION AND
RENEWAL FEES. (a) The Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation:
(1) shall monitor, coordinate, and provide training to
persons who provide in-person and online educational programs under
Section 521.374(a)(1) [521.374];
(2) shall administer the approval of those in-person
and online educational programs; and
(3) may charge a nonrefundable application fee to the
provider of an in-person or online educational program under
Section 521.374(a)(1) for:
(A) initial certification of approval; and
(B) renewal of the certification.
(b) The Department of State Health Services:
(1) shall monitor, coordinate, and provide training
to[:
[(A) persons who provide educational programs
under Section 521.374(a)(1); and
[(B)] residential treatment facilities described
by Section 521.374(a)(2) providing equivalent education; and
(2) shall administer the approval of the [educational
programs and the] equivalent education provided in a residential
treatment facility[; and
[(3) may charge a nonrefundable application fee to the
provider of an educational program under Section 521.374(a)(1) for:
[(A) initial certification of approval; and
[(B) renewal of the certification].
ARTICLE 3. TRANSITION; EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. (a) Section 3, Chapter 710 (H.B. 162), Acts
of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is repealed.
(b) Section 521.293, Transportation Code, as amended by
Chapter 710 (H.B. 162), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2019, applies to a determination to suspend a driver's
license that is made by the Department of Public Safety of the State
of Texas before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3.02. Not later than September 1, 2022, the Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation and the Department of Public
Safety shall adopt rules to implement Sections 521.374, 521.375,
and 521.376, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3.03. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
(b) Article 1 of this Act takes effect on the 91st day after
the date the office of the attorney general publishes in the Texas
Register a finding that:
(1) the legislature of this state has adopted a
resolution expressing the legislature's opposition to a law meeting
the requirements of 23 U.S.C. Section 159 in suspending, revoking,
or denying the driver's license of a person convicted of a drug
offense for a period of six months;
(2) the governor has submitted to the United States
secretary of transportation:
(A) a written certification of the governor's
opposition to the enactment or enforcement of a law required under
23 U.S.C. Section 159; and
(B) a written certification that the legislature
has adopted the resolution described by Subdivision (1) of this
subsection; and
(3) the United States secretary of transportation has
responded to the governor's submission and certified that highway
funds will not be withheld from this state in response to the
modification or full or partial repeal of the law required under 23
U.S.C. Section 159.
(c) On the 180th day after the date described in Subsection
(b) of this section, the Department of Public Safety shall
reinstate any driver's license that:
(1) was suspended under Section 521.372,
Transportation Code, before the date described by Subsection (b) of
this section; and
(2) remains subject to suspension under that section
on the 180th day after the date described in Subsection (b) of this
section.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 181 passed the Senate on
May 3, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that the
Senate concurred in House amendments on May 27, 2021, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 181 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 138,
Nays 3, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor