HBA-MSH H.B. 1563 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1563 By: Smithee Public Safety 3/7/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE With the recent increase in gasoline prices, gasoline retailers are concerned about the increased number of thefts in which a person dispenses gasoline into a vehicle and then drives away without paying, known as a driveoff. A survey by the Texas Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association answered by 28 percent of its members reported 527,718 driveoffs in 2000 with a total lost revenue of nearly $8 million. House Bill 1563 makes gasoline theft from a retailer a Class C misdemeanor, and provides for the suspension of a person's license if the person is found guilty of a second or subsequent offense. 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 1563 amends the Penal Code to provide that a person is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor if the person leaves the premises of a retail store at which motor fuel offered for sale was dispensed into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle by driving away in that motor vehicle without having made due payment or authorized charge for the motor fuel with intent to defraud the retail establishment. The bill requires the driver's license of a person on any second or subsequent offense be suspended for a period of six months for the first suspension, and for one year for a second or subsequent suspension. The bill requires a person whose driver's license has been suspended to pay a $25 restoration fee at the end of the suspension period before the suspension is terminated and the person's driver's license is returned . EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect on the 91st day after adjournment.