HBA-NMO C.S.H.B. 1939 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1939
By: Grusendorf
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/26/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires a person convicted of or granted deferred adjudication
for certain sexual offenses to annually register the person's address and
certain other information with local authorities. There is no current
system in place to ensure this registration is done.  C.S.H.B. 1939
provides requirements and procedures regarding driver's licenses or
personal identification certificates for persons subject to registration as
a sex offender.  

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 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Article 42.016, as follows: 

Art. 42.016. SPECIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR
CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS.  (a) Requires the court, if a person is convicted
of, receives a grant of deferred adjudication for, or is adjudicated as
having engaged in delinquent conduct based on a violation of an offense for
which a conviction or adjudication requires registration under Chapter 62
(Sex Offender Registration Program):    

(1) to issue an order requiring the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
to include in any driver's license record or personal identification
certificate record maintained by DPS for the person an indication that the
person is subject to registration as a sex offender;  

(2) require the person to apply to DPS in person for an original or renewal
driver's license or personal indentification certificate not later than the
30th day after the date the person is released or the date DPS sends
written notice to the person of the requirements of Article 62.065, as
applicable, and to annually renew the license or certificate; 

(3) notify the person of the consequence of the conviction or order of
deferred adjudication as it relates to the order issued under this article;
and 

(4) send to DPS a copy of the record of conviction, a copy of the order
granting deferred adjudication, or a copy of the juvenile adjudication, as
applicable, and a copy of the order issued under this article. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 62.03(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, to require
an official of a penal institution, before a person who will be subject to
registration as a sex offender is released from the penal institution, to
inform the person that the person must apply to DPS in person not later
than the 30th day after the date on which the person is released, for the
issuance of an original or renewal driver's license or personal
indentification certificate and failure to apply to DPS results in the
automatic revocation of any driver's license or personal identification
certificate issued by DPS. 

 SECTION 3.  Amends Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by
Chapter 668, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, by adding
Articles 62.065 and 62.068, as follows: 

Art. 62.065.  REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATE. (a) Requires a person subject to registration
as a sex offender  to apply to DPS in person for the issuance of an
original or renewal driver's license under Section 521.272, Transportation
Code, or for a personal identification certificate under Section 521.103,
Transportation Code, not later than the 30th day after the date the person
is released from a penal institution or is released by a court on juvenile
probation or community supervision, or DPS sends written notice to the
person of the requirements of this article. 

(b) Requires the person to annually renew in person each driver's license
or personal identification certificate issued by DPS, including each
renewal, duplicate, or corrected license or certificate, until the person's
duty to register under this chapter expires. 

(c) Requires DPS to determine from its records which persons required to
register as a sex offender are under supervision and control of a juvenile
probation office or an agency or entity operating under contract with a
juvenile probation office, a community supervision and corrections
department, or the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice and requires DPS to provide written notice of the
requirements of this article to each of those persons by not later than
October 30, 2000.  Provides that this subsection expires January 1, 2001. 

Art. 62.085.  INFORMATION PROVIDED TO PEACE OFFICER.  Requires DPS to
establish a procedure by which a peace officer or employee of a law
enforcement agency who provides DPS with a driver's license, personal
identification certificate, or license plate number is automatically
provided information as to whether the person to whom the driver's license
or personal identification certificate is issued is required to register as
a sex offender or whether the license plate number is entered in the
computerized central database under Article 62.08 (Central Database; Public
Information) as assigned to a vehicle owned or driven by a person required
to register as a sex offender. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, by
adding Section 521.057, as follows: 

Sec. 521.057.  INFORMATION REGARDING CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS. (a) Requires
DPS, on receipt of a court order issued under Article 42.016, Code of
Criminal Procedure, to ensure that any driver's license record or personal
identification certificate record maintained by DPS for the person includes
an indication that the person is subject to registration as a sex offender. 

(b) Requires DPS to include the indication required by Subsection (a) in
any driver's license record or personal identification certificate  record
maintained by DPS for the person until the expiration of the person's duty
to register as a sex offender. 

SECTION 5.  Amends Section 521.101, Transportation Code, by adding
Subsections (h) and (i), as follows:   

(h) Requires DPS to automatically revoke each personal identification
certificate issued by DPS to a person who is subject to registration as a
sex offender and fails to apply to DPS for renewal of the personal
identification certificate as required by Article 62.065, Code of Criminal
Procedure. 

(i) Authorizes DPS to issue a personal identification certificate to a
person whose certificate is revoked under Subsection (h) only if the person
applies for an original or renewal certificate under Section 521.103. 

SECTION 6.  Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, by
adding Section 521.103,  as follows: 

Sec. 521.103.  EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SEX
OFFENDERS.  (a) Authorizes DPS to issue an original or renewal personal
identification certificate to a person whose driver's license or personal
identification certificate record indicates that the person is subject to
registration as a sex offender only if the person applies in person for the
issuance of a certificate under this section, and the person pays a $5 fee.

(b) Provides that a personal identification certificate issued under this
section expires on the first birthday of the certificate holder occurring
after the date of application, except that the initial certificate issued
under this section expires on the second birthday of the certificate holder
occurring after the date of application. 

SECTION 7.  Amends Subchapter M, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, by
adding Section 521.272, as follows: 

Sec. 521.272.  RENEWAL OF LICENSE ISSUED TO CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS.  (a)
Authorizes DPS to issue an original or renewal driver's license to a person
whose driver's license or personal identification certificate record
indicates that the person is subject to registration as a sex offender only
if the person applies in person for the issuance of a certificate under
this section, and the person pays a $5 fee.   

(b) Provides that a person is not required to provide proof of financial
responsibility to receive the person's initial driver's license under this
section. 

(c) Provides that a driver's license issued under this section expires on
the first birthday of the license holder occurring after the date of
application, except that the initial license issued under this section
expires on the second birthday of the certificate holder occurring after
the date of application. 

SECTION 8.  Amends Section 521.274(b), Transportation Code, to make
conforming changes. 

SECTION 9.  Amends Section Subchapter O, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
by adding Section 521.348, as follows: 

Sec. 521.348.  AUTOMATIC REVOCATION FOR CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS. Provides
that a driver's license is automatically revoked if the holder of the
license is subject to registration as a sex offender and fails to apply to
DPS for renewal of the license as required by Article 62.065, Code of
Criminal Procedure.  Authorizes DPS to issue a driver's license to a person
whose license is revoked under this section only if the person applies for
an original or renewal licensed under Section 521.272 and is otherwise
qualified for the license. 

SECTION 10.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 11.  Effective date: September 1, 2000.

SECTION 12.  Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The caption reflects the changes made by the substitute.

The substitute differs from the original in SECTION 1 (proposed Articles
42.016 and 42.017, Code of Criminal Procedure) by modifying Article 42.016
to provide special driver's license or identification requirements for
certain sex offenders, rather than providing for the revocation of driver's
license on conviction of certain sex offenses; and by removing proposed
Article 42.017 (Confiscation of Motor Vehicle License Plates). 

 The substitute differs from the original in SECTION 2 by removing proposed
Section 502.299 (Sex Offender License Plates); and instead amending Article
62.03, Code of Criminal Procedure.  For a more complete analysis of the new
SECTION 2 please see the Section-by-Section Analysis portion of this
document. 

The substitute redesignates SECTION 3 (effective date, prospective clause)
of the original as SECTION 10 and modifies it by removing the September 1,
1999 effective date and making changes to the prospective clause that
conform to changes made to statute in the substitute. 

The substitute redesignates SECTION 4 (emergency clause) of the original as
SECTION 12. 

The substitute adds new SECTIONS 3-9.  For a more complete analysis of
these new SECTIONS please see the Section-by-Section Analysis portion of
this document.   

The substitute adds a new SECTION 11 to provide that this Act takes effect
on September 1, 2000.