HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 2032 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2032
By: Kuempel
Public Safety
4/9/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Department of Public Safety (department) personnel are required
to obtain the driver's license and the vehicle registration of a convicted
person if the person fails to surrender these items after receiving a
notice. This creates time consuming bookkeeping requirements for the
department. C.S.H.B. 2032 authorizes the department to require a license
holder who has had a license suspended or revoked by the department to
surrender the license to the department.  This bill authorizes the
department to return a suspended license to the holder on the expiration of
the suspension period. This bill also authorizes the department to require
the person to send to the department the person's driver's license and
vehicle registration. It authorizes the department to direct a department
employee to obtain and send to the department the driver's license and
vehicle registration of a person who fails to send the person's license or
registration. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Public Safety in
SECTION 3 (Section 601.372, Transportation Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 521.308, Transportation Code, to authorize,
rather than require, the Department of Public Safety (department) to
require a license holder who has had the person's license suspended or
revoked by the department to surrender the license to the department.
Authorizes, rather than requires, the department to return a suspended
license to the holder on the expiration of the suspension period. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 521.347(a), Transportation Code, to authorize,
rather than require, the court that convicts a person of an offense for
which this chapter (Driver's Licenses and Certificates) or Chapter 522
(Commercial Driver's License), Transportation Code, requires automatic
suspension of the person's driver's license to require the person to
surrender to the court each driver's license held by the person. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 601.372(c), Transportation Code, as follows:

(c) Authorizes the department, by rule, to require the person to send the
person's drivers license, rather than requiring the person to send the
driver's license, and vehicle registrations no later than 10 days after
receiving written notice from the department. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 601.373(b), Transportation Code, to authorize,
rather than require, the department to direct a department employee to
obtain and send to the department the driver's license and vehicle
registration of a person who fails to send the person's license or
registration in accordance with Section 601.372. 

SECTION 5.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 6.Emergency clause.

 COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

This substitute differs from the original bill by creating new SECTION 2
(Section 521.347(a), Transportation Code) which authorizes, rather than
requires, the court that convicts a person of an offense for which this
chapter (Driver's Licenses and Certificates) or Chapter 522 (Commercial
Driver's License), Transportation Code, requires automatic suspension of
the person's driver's license, to require the person to surrender to the
court each driver's license held by the person. 

This substitute redesignates SECTIONS 2-5 from the original bill to
SECTIONS 3-6 of the substitute, respectively.  

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 3 (Section
601.372(c), Transportation Code) by authorizing the department, by rule, to
require the person to send the person's driver's and vehicle registrations
no later than 10 days after receiving written notice from the department.
The original bill does not specify that the department may act by rule. 

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 6 by changing
from the long emergency clause, to the short emergency clause, in the
original.