HBA-KHM, JLV, EDN H.B. 1078 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1078 By: Smith Criminal Jurisprudence 3/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Statistics prove that most drunk driving deaths are caused by (1) alcoholics, (2) repeat offenders, and (3) those who drive at a high BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of more than 0.15 percent. Crash and motor vehicle fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that drivers with BAC in excess of 0.15 are responsible for 61 percent of all alcohol-related driver fatalities. Drivers with BAC's in excess of 0.15 are only 1 percent of all drivers on weekend nights, however, they are involved in nearly 50 percent of all fatal crashes during that same time period. In 1999, Texas reported 1,734 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities. California has 13 million more people than Texas but, in 1999, had almost 400 fewer alcohol-related fatalities. Extremely drunk drivers (defined as drivers with a BAC of 0.15 or above) are 385 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a non-drinking driver. However, under current Texas law, they are treated no worse than a driver who is arrested at the legal minimum. House Bill 1078 targets extremely drunk drivers by effectively doubling the penalties and making jail-time continuous for these drivers. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1078 amends the Penal Code to provide that it is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum confinement of 30 days, if it is shown on the trial of an offense of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated that an analysis of a specimen of the person's blood, breath, or urine (analysis) shows an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more. It is a third degree felony if the person has previously been convicted of an offense of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated. The bill also amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to set forth guidelines regarding days of confinement in county jail that a judge, granting community supervision to a defendant for an offense related to intoxication or alcoholic beverages, shall require as a condition of community supervision. The bill removes the requirement for a defendant convicted of public intoxication or consumption or possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle to submit to an evaluation by a supervision officer or a person, program, or facility approved by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for the purpose of having the facility prescribe and supervise a course of conduct necessary for the rehabilitation of the defendant's drug or alcohol dependence condition, as a condition of community supervision. H.B. 1078 provides that if a person convicted of an offense of driving, flying, boating, or assembling or operating an amusement ride while intoxicated is placed on community supervision, the court shall require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant have installed, on the motor vehicle owned by the defendant or on the vehicle most regularly driven by the defendant, a device that uses a deep-lung breath analysis mechanism to make impractical the operation of the motor vehicle if ethyl alcohol is detected in the breath of the operator (device) and that the defendant not operate any motor vehicle that is not equipped with a device. If on the trial of a person convicted of an offense of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated, an analysis shows an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more and the person is placed on community supervision after conviction, the court shall require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant have a device installed on the appropriate vehicle and that the defendant not operate any motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with a device. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.