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2005 Legislative Session Wrap
Bills MADD Supported That Passed:

HB 51
Under current law, persons convicted of certain intoxication offenses and placed on community supervision may be required to have an ignition interlock device installed on their vehicles.  The device makes it impossible for the vehicle to be operated if ethyl alcohol is detected in the breath of the operator.  If the person has been previously convicted of an intoxication offense, the person is required to have the device installed. H.B. 51 requires an interlock device to be installed if the person had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.15 or more at the time the analysis was performed.  
         
In addition, Section 49.09 (Enhanced Offenses and Penalties), Penal Code, deals with enhanced penalties for certain intoxication offenses, for persons who have previously been convicted of an intoxication offense.  Under current law, the offense may not be enhanced if the prior conviction was more than 10 years ago and the defendant has not been convicted of a subsequent intoxication offense.  H.B. 51 repeals this ten-year provision.

HB 157
Currently, a person convicted of an offense under Chapter 49 (Intoxication and Alcoholic Beverage Offenses), Penal Code is required to serve three days of confinement in county jail.  Apparently, three days can start at the end of the day on Friday and end at the beginning of the day on Sunday.  Therefore, the time of confinement is really only one full day.  

H.B. 157 ensures that offenders actually spend 72 continuous hours behind bars.

HB 233
Currently, emergency medical services (EMS) cannot respond to an accident, fire, disaster, or any other emergency situation outside their respective municipality without the scene first being secured by a law enforcement officer of that county or municipality if there is a possible threat of any kind against the ambulance personnel.  For various reasons, a municipal police officer may arrive on a crime scene before a county law enforcement officer, but the municipal police officer is not able to secure the area because it lies outside of the officer's jurisdiction.  The EMS team is therefore unable to administer emergency care until the officer employed by that jurisdiction arrives and secures the scene.  This could result in the victims of the crime or accident being denied immediate emergency care.
         
H.B. 233 amends Chapter 774, Health and Safety Code, to provide a municipality the option to allow a municipal police officer to accompany a municipal ambulance to a scene outside its respective  municipality whenever the ambulance personnel can be placed in harm's way.

HB 904
In 1997, the 75th Legislature determined that judges should have the discretion, following a single trial over multiple crimes, to consider ordering defendants to serve consecutive sentences for those crimes.  The listed crimes were intoxication manslaughter and sex offenses.

H.B. 904 adds the offense of intoxication assault to the list of crimes for which judges would have the discretion to order a defendant to serve consecutive sentences following a single trial.  In a drunk driving accident, there are frequently multiple victims.  The stacking laws should apply equally to punish those defendants who seriously injured (intoxication assault) as well as killed (intoxication manslaughter) multiple victims.  This change will consolidate such cases and avoid the need for multiple trials.

HB 1480
MADD has educational programs aimed at preventing drunk driving. H.B. 1480 would create a specialty license plate for MADD and allocate the money remaining, after administrative costs are paid, to educational programs sponsored by MADD.         

HB 2275
Chapter 704, Transportation Code, aims to provide a solution for the recidivism of driving while intoxicated (DWI).  This provision allows prosecutors to seize and forfeit a repeat offender's vehicle after the third DWI conviction.  This law is infrequently prosecuted because it is poorly drafted, cumbersome, and ineffective.  

Under H.B. 2275, Chapter 704, Transportation Code, will be reformed and made part of Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure, to aid police and prosecutors in fighting DWI recidivism.

HB 2868
Previously, adults who provided liquor to minors could not be held responsible for the cost if a child harms kills or kills another or is killed as a result of being under the influence of alcohol. 
         
H.B. 2868 holds adults who are over 21 accountable for facilitating the intoxication of minors who are under 18. Under this bill, if a child who is 18 or younger causes damages while intoxicated due to the consumption of alcohol supplied by an adult who is 21 or older, the adult will be held liable for the damages caused by the child.

Bills MADD Opposed That Passed:

SB 166 (HB 269)
During the 78th legislative session, SB 1477 was passed which made orders of non-disclosure possible, but which also made minor changes to the expunction statutes. One of the changes has had the unintended consequence of allowing the Department of Public Safety to maintain records that have been ordered by a court to be expunged and to make the records public to criminal justice and certain noncriminal justice agencies. SB 166 corrects this unintended consequence and also requires DPS to destroy records that were not expunged due to the unintended consequence.

HB 160 (HB 195)
Event data recorders (EDRs) are commonly known as "black boxes" for the car and essentially perform the same function as a black box in an airplane.

EDRs have proven useful in diagnostic accident scenes.  Some people, however, have raised privacy concerns, as most drivers do not know that these devices are currently in their vehicles and information retrieved from black boxes is now being used to prosecute drivers both civilly and criminally.

C.S.H.B. 160 requires sellers and lessors of vehicles to disclose to buyers and lessees the presence of an EDR.  C.S.H.B. 160 also requires that a person, other than the owner of the vehicle, seeking to retrieve the information contained in the EDR obtain either the owner's consent or a court order.

HB 969
H.B. 969 mandates discovery in a criminal prosecution by the defendant of the prosecution's evidence, except that which is work product or privileged.  The amendment changes the current language to require, rather than authorize, the court to order the production of this evidence.  The granting of a motion for discovery is still predicated upon a defendant's showing of good cause as well as proper notice and the state's unfettered control of the evidence itself.

HB 2193
H.B. 2193 reduces the caseloads in community supervision programs by reducing the number of years defendants can be placed on supervision, and by giving judges discretion to reduce or terminate a case at one-half of the defendant's term. H.B. 2193 also creates a pilot project within the Community Justice Assistance Division of TDCJ to accomplish a reduction in specialized caseloads for supervision officers, increase judicial oversight, reduce revocations, and increase monitoring and field contact by supervision officers.

Bills MADD Supported That Did Not Pass:

HB 13
HB 13 would have increased the offense of selling alcohol to a minor from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony for anyone who has a pervious conviction of the offense.   

HB14 (HB 80)
Under current law, only physicians, qualified technicians, chemists, registered nurses, or licensed vocational nurses are authorized to draw a blood sample for an investigation of a charge of driving while intoxicated (DWI).  This precludes emergency medical technician-paramedics (EMTs) from drawing a blood sample.  A person's level of intoxication can be more precisely measured the closer to the time of an accident a blood sample is drawn.  
         
C.S.H.B. 14 would have authorized an EMT or licensed paramedic to draw a blood sample for a DWI investigation.  This was intended to facilitate the prosecution for offenses of driving while intoxicated by providing more accurate results of blood-alcohol content tests.  The bill also provided that an EMT or paramedic would not be required to go to a location solely for the purpose of taking a specimen.        

HB 27
C.S.H.B. 27 would have enhanced the penalties for the intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer or firefighter.  The bill would have increased the penalty for an intoxication assault from a third degree felony sentence (2-10 years imprisonment, $10,000 fine) to a second-degree felony sentence (2-20 years imprisonment, $10,000 fine).  C.S.H.B. 27 also would have increased the penalty for intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer or firefighter from a second-degree felony sentence to a first-degree felony (5-99 years imprisonment, $10,000 fine).

C.S.H.B. 27 also allowed for the stacking of penalties for intoxication assault cases, whereby a felon may serve consecutive sentences for each offense.  Current law already permits for the stacking of intoxication manslaughter sentences.  (This provision was passed in HB 904)

HB 49
Section 49.09 of the Penal Code deals with enhanced penalties for certain intoxication offenses, for persons who have been previously convicted of an intoxication offense. Under current law, however, the offense may not be enhanced if the conviction was more than ten years ago and the defendant has not been convicted of a subsequent intoxication offense. House Bill 49 repeals this ten-year provision. The bill also allows "DWI with a child in a car" offenses to be used as a final conviction that qualifies for enhancement purposes.

HB 50 (SB25, HB309)
Would have provided the Department of Public Safety and certain local law enforcement agencies the authority to establish sobriety checkpoints on highways or streets to determine whether persons are driving while intoxicated.

HB 76
Each year, several Texans are injured in or die from alcohol-related accidents involving watercrafts.  Currently, the penalties for boating while intoxicated are not as strict as those for driving while intoxicated. 
House Bill 76 would have increased the penalties for operating a watercraft while intoxicated and modified provisions regarding the collection of a blood or breath sample from a person suspected of operating a watercraft while intoxicated.

HB 193
Currently, there are 23 states that have keg registration laws on the books.  It is in the best interests of this state to follow suit and hold individuals accountable who allow underage youth to consume alcohol through this medium.  This bill seeks to curb underage alcohol consumption.
         
C.S.H.B. 193 would have established a keg registration system to identify and penalize adults and youths that purchase kegs and allow underage youth to consume alcohol from them.

HB 904
Currently, an insurer is not liable for treatment relating to injuries sustained as a result of the insured being intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.  Many patients admitted into emergency rooms are not tested for intoxication for fear that the insurance companies will then deny payment for the services rendered.  
         
H.B. 949 would have required any individual accident or health insurance policy that provides coverage for emergency or other medical, hospital, or surgical expenses to pay for treatment for injuries that are the result of the insured being intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.

SB 27
SB 27 would have created a legal presumption that at the time of operating a motor vehicle in a public place, the person operating the vehicle had an alcohol concentration equal to or higher than the alcohol concentration shown by an analysis of breath or blood taken from the person at or not later than three hours after the time of the person's arrest.

SB 36
SB 36 would have required the court to allow a victim, close relative of a deceased victim, or guardian of a victim to appear in person to present to the court an oral statement of the person's views about the offense and the effect of the offense on the victim. 

SB 1675/HB 3025
Currently, a judge having jurisdiction in a Class A or Class B misdemeanor case may sentence a defendant who has been placed or continued on community supervision to a term in the county jail not to exceed thirty days.  However, many county jails have treatment programs that require attendance beyond those thirty days.  
        
Defendants charged with misdemeanor offenses are normally the best candidates for such programs, but are unable to attend due to a relatively short length of stay allowable in county jail. Ensuring that an individual completes the treatment program will aid in reducing recidivism and guarantee successful reintegration of the defendant into the community.
         
C.S.S.B. 1675 would have to enhanced the effectiveness of jail treatment programs by increasing the term of confinement a judge may impose on a defendant as a condition of community supervision from thirty days to not more than sixty days for a Class B misdemeanor and not more than ninety days for a Class A misdemeanor, if the judge has ordered the defendant to participate in a jail treatment program.

Bills MADD Opposed That Did Not Pass:

SB 1266/HB 1887
Current Texas law provides judges with specific instructions and orders regarding community supervision.  
         
C.S.S.B. 1266 would have granted judges the authority and duty to determine who should get probation, what the condition of supervision should be, and when and how supervision should be ended.

The bill would have further reduced DWI punishments by reducing the length of time DWI offenders may by placed on probation (from 10 years to 5 years) and provided for early release from probation for DWI offenders.

C.S.S.B. 1266 would have made all driving while intoxicated offenders, including repeat DWI offenders as well as intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter offenders, eligible for deferred adjudication. 

That would have allowed a DWI offenders record to be eliminated and the person would be treated as a first offender for subsequent offenses.  This would have applied even to offenders who killed or seriously injured someone.
 

 2003 LEGISLATIVE WRAP- UP

This session the Texas Legislature passed several DWI measures that will help enforce DWI laws and make Texas roads safer.  HB 292 by Elvira Reyna (R-Mesquite) sponsored by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) requires an alcohol test in crashes that result in serious bodily injury when police have arrested someone for DWI.  SB 45 by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) sponsored by Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) makes driving while intoxicated with a child 15 or younger in the vehicle a state jail felony.

HB 292 extends the circumstances under which a BAC test can be compelled from crashes that cause a fatality to crashes that cause a serious bodily injury.  “Representative Reyna’s bill gives police the power to collect evidence to show that a crime has been committed,” said Bill Lewis, Public Policy Liaison for the Texas Office of MADD. 

SB 45 addresses a 2000 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which shows that in cases where child passengers are killed due to a drunk driver, 64% of these deaths occurred while the child was riding with the drunk driver.  Texas joins 27 states that already have DWI-specific child endangerment laws.

The Driver Responsibility Program in HB 3588 by Mike Krusee (R-Taylor) sponsored by Steve Ogden (R-College Station) will further penalize those who drive drunk by requiring that an offender pay a $1,000 surcharge for their first DWI offense and a greater amount for subsequent DWI offenses.

The defeat of HB 1725 by Jack Stick (R-Austin) was another victory for traffic safety advocates.  Representative Stick’s bill would have moved hearings for administrative license revocation (ALR) from the State Office of Administrative Hearings to the county court system.  “This bill would have gutted ALR by placing over 20,000 cases per year into an already over-burdened county court system.  Thousands of cases would have been dismissed and many drunk drivers would have been able to keep their licenses had this bill passed,” said Lewis.

The biggest disappointment for MADD and other traffic safety advocates was the failure of HB 226 by Todd Smith (R-Euless) and SB 44 by Zaffirini, which would have provided Texans with a proven strategy for DWI prevention by establishing statewide guidelines for sobriety checkpoints.  The bill failed by a three to four vote in the House Committee on Law Enforcement and never received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. “Instead of waiting until after a wreck or an arrest to severely punish someone, checkpoints save lives and prevent injuries by giving all of us a powerful incentive to voluntarily comply with the laws against driving while intoxicated,” said Lewis. Sobriety checkpoints are allowed in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Repesentatives Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth), Yvonne Davis (D-Dallas), Suzanna Hupp (R-Lampasas), and Terry Keel (R-Austin) voted against the bill.

MADD'S LEGISLATIVE GOALS FOR THE 2003 SESSION

The state organization of MADD, Texas has identified two legislative priorities for the 78th session of the Texas Legislature.

First, MADD will support a bill that will provide guidelines Texas law enforcement agencies need to conduct sobriety checkpoints.

Because the Legislature has not provided guidelines to ensure the public's constitutional protections against unreasonable searches, Texas law enforcement agencies cannot use one of the most effective deterrents against drunk driving, sobriety checkpoints.  Checkpoints help prevent drunk driving because they are a high visibility enforcement action that raises would-be drunken drivers' perceived risk of apprehension.  Checkpoints are also effective at arresting hard core drunken drivers who have learned to avoid detection by the police under non-demanding driving conditions.  Studies of states that use checkpoints show significant reductions in alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

The bills MADD supports, SB 44 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini and HB 226 by Rep. Todd Smith, provide the guildelines required by the courts so law enforcement agencies can get drunken drivers off the road before they kill or hurt themselves or others.

Second, MADD will support a bill to require alcohol testing of drivers in traffic crashes that result in a fatality or serious injury.

Texas still lags behind most other states in testing drivers in fatal crashes.  Requiring drivers who are involved in fatal and serious injury crashes to be tested will benefit Texas by giving policy makers a more accurate picture of the DWI problem, providing better information on the effectiveness of DWI countermeasures and securing evidence for criminal cases.

Note:  Other legislation will almost certainly be proposed during the 2003 session that MADD will support, or oppose, depending on the effect on DWI laws.

FINAL REPORT ON THE 77TH SESSION (2001)  OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE

The 2001 session of the Texas Legislature was one of the best for MADD.  In that year, MADD, Texas identified four issues as our top legislative priorities.  Two of those issues passed (beefing up Administrative License Revocation and open container), one failed (so-called "mandatory" testing), and no bill was filed on the other measure (sobriety checkpoints).

Administrative License Revocation (ALR), HB 63 by Representative Steve Wolens (D-Dallas), sponsored by Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), went into effect on September 1, 2001.  Texas now has a real ALR law.  Police now take possession of a person's drivers license at the time of arrest if that person refuses or fails a breath test.  ALR is still a long way from being perfect, but this bill closed one of the biggest loopholes in the current law.  The improved law also significantly lengthened the periods of suspension, especially for people who refuse to take a breath test.

Open container, HB 5 by Representative Dunnam, sponsored by Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), also went into effect September 1, 2001.  The new law may just barely meet the federal open container guidelines, but those guidelines are pretty tough, so Texas now has a real open container law.  Representative Fred Hill (R-Richardson) greatly improved the bill on the House floor by removing a part of the bill that would have ended enforcement of the law if the federal guidelines expired.

"Mandatory" tests in fatal crasehs (HB 345) by Representative Terry Keep (R-Austin) died waiting to be placed on the House calendar.

MADD tracked over 180 bills; listed below are some of the high spots on what happened to some of them.  You may also be able to find more information on these bills by going to www.capitol.state.tx.us.

Other good bills that passed (All went into effect September 1, 2001):

HB 598 by Representative Goodman (R-Arlington), sponsored by Senator Chris Harris (R-Arlington), increased Community Supervision fees to a maximum of $60 per month.  The old limit, which had been set in 1986, was $40.

HB 1572 by Representative Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso), sponsored by Senator Todd Staples (R-Palestine), expanded the rights of victims and limited use of "The Rule" to exclude victim witnesses from trials.

HB 2250 by Representative Todd Smith (R-Euless), sponsored by Senator Mike Moncrief (D-Fort Worth), made an Intoxication Manslaughter conviction available to enhance a subsequent DWI regardless of how long ago the Intoxication Manslaughter offense occurred.

SB 577 by Senator Teel Bivins (R-Amarillo), sponsored by Representative Joe Driver (R-Garland) was a good start to a stong Graduated Drivers License law in Texas.

SB 586 by Senator Steve Ogden (R-College Station), sponsored by Representative Clyde Alexander (D-Athens), established the Center for Transportation Safety.

SB 1202 by Senator Zaffirini, sponsored by Representative Pete Gallego (D-Alpine), increased the limits on payments by the state to crime victims to $75,000.  The old limit was $50,000.  The bill also expanded the types of expenses that are eligible for crime victims compensation payments.

Good bills that died:

HB 1078 by Representative Todd Smith (R-Euless) would have increased the penalties for convicted drunken drivers whose BAC was higher than .15.  The bill would have also required people who must serve a certain amount of time in confinement as a condition of community supervision to serve that time continuously.  The bill never had a hearing.

HB 893 by Representative Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), sponsored by Senator Chris Harris, would have increased vehicle registration fees by $5 and used that money to fund trauma centers.  The bill passed the House but died on the Senate floor.

Several insurance verification bills were filed; they all died.  These bills would have required 500,000 randomly selected  vehicle owners to send proof of liability insurance or financial responsibility to the Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT) each year.  TX DOT would have cancelled the registrations of those who did not produce proof of financial responsibility or minimum liability insurance.  Similar insurance verification systems in other states have dramatically increased compliance with mandatory insurance laws.

SB 56 by Senator Judith Zaffirini, sponsored by Representative Robert Talton (R-Pasadena), would have established a presumption that a person's BAC when he was arrested for DWI was the same or higher than his BAC when he was tested if the test occurred within a ce