HBA-DMD H.B. 3363 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3363
By: Talton
Public Safety
4/22/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current state law, anyone who is convicted of a second or subsequent
offense of driving while intoxicated is required to have an ignition
interlock installed in their motor vehicle. H.B. 3363 requires the
Department of Public Safety (department) to provide that an ignition
interlock device (device) may be approved only if the device meets certain
guidelines. This bill requires the department to establish minimum
standards for vendors of devices who conduct business in this state and
procedures to ensure compliance with those standards. This bill also
authorizes the department to revoke its authorization given to a vendor to
do business in this state if the vendor or an officer or employee of the
vendor is a person who has been convicted of any felony or of a second or
subsequent offense relating to the operation of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated. It requires a vendor to reimburse the department for the
reasonable cost of conducting each inspection of the vendor's facilities.  

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
SECTIONS 1 and 2 (Sections 521.247 and 521.2476, Transportation Code) and
rulemaking authority previously delegated to the Department of Public
Safety is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 521.247, Transportation Code) of
this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 521.247(a) and (b), Transportation Code, as
follows: 

(a) Requires the Department of Public Safety (department), by rule, to
provide that an ignition interlock device (device) may be approved only if
the device meets certain guidelines. 

(b) Requires the department, by rule, to establish minimum, rather than
general, standards for the calibration and maintenance of the devices.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter L, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, by
adding Section 521.2476, as follows: 

Sec. 521.2476. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR VENDORS OF IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES.
(a) Requires the department, by rule, to establish minimum standards for
vendors of ignition interlock devices who conduct business in this state
and procedures to ensure compliance with those standards, including
procedures for the inspection of a vendor's facilities.  

(b) Specifies the required minimum standards that are required of each
vendor. 

(c) Authorizes the department to revoke the department's authorization for
a vendor to do business in this state if the vendor or an officer or
employee of the vendor is a person who has been convicted of any felony or
of a second or subsequent offense relating to the operation of a motor
vehicle while intoxicated. Requires the department to periodically review
criminal history record information maintained by the department and take
any  action necessary to enforce this subsection.  

(d) Requires a vendor to reimburse the department for the reasonable cost
of conducting each inspection of the vendor's facilities under this
section.  

(e) Defines "offense relating to the operation of a motor vehicle while
intoxicated" in this section.  

SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.Emergency clause.