84R26624 AJZ-F
	By: Thompson of Harris, Phillips, Pickett	H.B. No. 2671
	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2671:
	By:  Phillips	C.S.H.B. No. 2671

	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.  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 6.  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 7.  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 $650
	[$250 per year].
	SECTION 8.  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 9.  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 10.  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 11.  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 12.  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 $500 or more over a
	period of less than 48 [36] consecutive months;
	(B)  pay surcharges that total more than $250 but
	not more than $499 over a period of less than 24 consecutive months;
	or
	(C)  pay surcharges that total $249 or less over a
	period of less than 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 13.  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 14.  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 15.  Section 708.159, Transportation Code, is
	repealed.
	SECTION 16.  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 17.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.