Bill Text: TX HB3050 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to driver's and learner licenses and the issuance of certain driver's licenses and identification certificates; authorizing a fee.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB3050 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB3050-Comm_Sub.html
 
 
  By: King of Parker (Senate Sponsor - Nichols) H.B. No. 3050
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
  May 10, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Transportation; May 19, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0;
  May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3050 By:  Nichols
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
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.
 
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