HBA-EDN H.B. 1699 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1699 By: Morrison Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1999, Texas led the country in alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Unfortunately, many of the offenders are parents who may be traveling with their minor children. In these cases, the minor does not have discretion as to whether he or she will be traveling with the parent. Texas law currently provides a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum confinement of 72 hours in jail for a first time offender convicted of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated and provides certain enhanced penalties if there are extenuating circumstances on the first offense. House Bill 1699 provides that a person convicted of an offense of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated who at the time of the offense was operating the vehicle with a passenger younger than 14 years of age commits a Class A misdemeanor. 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 1699 amends the Penal Code to increase the punishment for an offense of driving, flying, or boating while intoxicated to a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum confinement term of 30 days if it is shown on the trial of such an offense that at the time of the offense the person was operating the motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft with a passenger younger than 14 years of age. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.