HBA-DMH C.S.H.B. 363 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 363 By: Gallego Public Safety 3/22/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a peace officer may not arrest a person for a traffic offense involving speeding or a violation of the open container law. In these situations the officer is required to issue a written notice to appear. C.S.H.B. 363 provides that all traffic offenses that are Class C misdemeanors are offenses for which a peace officer is required to issue a citation that contains a written notice to appear if a person displays the required identification. 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 C.S.H.B. 363 amends the Transportation Code and Code of Criminal Procedure to require a peace officer to issue a citation that contains a written notice to appear before a magistrate, instead of taking a person before the magistrate if the person is charged with a traffic offense that is a Class C misdemeanor, including a violation of the open container law, and displays the required identification. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 363 differs from the original bill by adding the requirement that a person display an unexpired driver's license or permit issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or by another state or country or an unexpired personal identification certificate issued to the person by DPS as a conditions for the issuance of a written notice to appear.