HBA-NMO H.B. 2695 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2695
By: Dunnam
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/16/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law provides criminal penalties relating to operating a vehicle
while intoxicated.  H.B. 2695 provides additional penalties for both first
time and multiple offenders if a person operates a motor vehicle in a
public place while having an alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 and
less than 0.10, and is not intoxicated.  This bill also makes certain other
relating changes to the Penal Code.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 49, Penal Code, by adding Section 49.045, as
follows: 

Sec. 49.045.  POST-CONSUMPTION DRIVING.  Provides that a person commits a
Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500, if the person operates a
motor vehicle in a public place having an alcohol concentration of more
than 0.08 and less than 0.10, and is not intoxicated under Section
49.01(2)(A), Penal Code.  The offense is punishable in the same manner as
an offense under Section 49.04 (Driving While Intoxicated), if the person
has previously been convicted one or more times of an offense under this
section.  Requires the clerk of the convicting court to remit the fine
collected to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.   

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 49.09, Penal Code, by adding Subsections (g) and
(h), as follows: 

(g) Provides that a person commits a felony of the second degree if it is
shown on trial of an offense under Section 49.04 (Driving While
Intoxicated), 49.05 (Flying While Intoxicated), or 49.06 (Boating While
Intoxicated) that the person has previously been convicted three times of
an offense relating to such offenses.  

(h) Requires that a person convicted two or more times of an offense under
Section 49.045, for the purposes of this section, be punished in the same
manner as a person whom it is shown has previously been convicted one time
of an offense relating to the operation of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 724.011(a), Transportation Code, by providing
that a person arrested for an offense under Section 49.045, Penal Code, is
deemed to have consented to the testing of the person's breath or blood to
determine alcohol concentration or the presence of a drug or other
substance. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 724.013, Transportation Code, as follows:

Sec. 724.013.  New Title:  PROHIBITION ON TAKING SPECIMEN IF PERSON
REFUSES; EXCEPTION; PRESUMPTION OF CONSUMPTION.  Provides that a person who
is arrested for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated or  post-consumption, and refuses to submit to the taking of a
specimen is presumed to have had an alcohol concentration of more than 0.08
and less than 0.10 at the time of arrest. 
 SECTION 5.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
           Makes application of Sections 3 and 4 of this Act prospective.

SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.