HBA-NMO H.B. 3496 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3496 By: Dunnam Criminal Jurisprudence 4/16/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle in this state unless the person holds a driver's license. H.B. 3496 provides that violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceed $200; except if it is shown at the trial of the offense that the defendant has been convicted in the 12 months preceding the offense of an offense for which a person's driver's license could have been suspended, in which case, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500, and confinement in county jail for a term of not less than 72 hours or more than six months. 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 Section 521.021, Transportation Code, by creating Subsection (a) from existing text, and adding Subsections (b) and (c), as follows: (b) Provides that a person commits an offense if the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway in this state without a driver's license. Provides that an offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200, except as provided by Subsection (c). (c) Provides that an offense under this section, if it is shown at the trial of the offense that the person has been convicted in the 12 months preceding the offense of an offense for which a person's driver's license could have been suspended, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500, and confinement in county jail for a term of not less than 72 hours or more than six months. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.