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H.B. No. 468
AN ACT
relating to driver and traffic safety education courses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1001.056, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), (e), (f), and (g) and adding
Subsections (b-1) and (c-1) to read as follows:
(b) The agency shall provide [print and supply to] each
licensed course provider with course completion certificate
numbers to enable the provider to print and issue agency-approved
uniform certificates of course completion.
(b-1) Certificate numbering under Subsection (b) [The
certificates] must be serial [numbered serially].
(c) The agency by rule shall provide for the design [and
distribution] of the certificates and the distribution of
certificate numbers in a manner that, to the greatest extent
possible, prevents the unauthorized production or the misuse of the
certificates or certificate numbers.
(c-1) A course provider shall provide for the printing and
issuance of original and duplicate certificates in a manner that,
to the greatest extent possible, prevents the unauthorized
production or the misuse of the certificates.
(e) The agency may charge a fee of not more than $4 for each
course completion certificate number. A course provider that
supplies a certificate to an operator shall collect from the
[charge an] operator a fee equal to the amount of the fee paid to the
agency for the [a] certificate number.
(f) A course provider license entitles a course provider to
purchase certificate numbers [certificates] for only one approved
driving safety course.
(g) A course provider [The agency] shall issue a duplicate
certificate by mail or commercial delivery [certificates]. The
commissioner by rule shall determine the amount of the fee for
issuance of a duplicate certificate under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 1001.151(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The annual renewal fee for a course provider, driving
safety school, driver education school, or branch location is an
appropriate amount established by the commissioner not to exceed
$200, except that the agency may waive the fee if revenue generated
by the issuance of [uniform certificates of] course completion
certificate numbers and driver education certificates is
sufficient to cover the cost of administering this chapter and
Article 45.0511, Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 3. Section 1001.209(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A bond issued under Subsection (a) must be:
(1) issued by a company authorized to do business in
this state;
(2) payable to the state to be used:
(A) for payment of a refund due a student of the
course provider's approved course;
(B) to cover the payment of unpaid fees or
penalties assessed by the agency; or
(C) to recover any [the] cost associated with
providing [of uniform certificates of] course completion
certificate numbers, including the cancellation of certificate
numbers [the agency demands be returned or any cost associated with
the certificates];
(3) conditioned on the compliance of the course
provider and its officers, agents, and employees with this chapter
and rules adopted under this chapter; and
(4) issued for a period corresponding to the term of
the license.
SECTION 4. Sections 1001.351(a) and (b), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 15th working day after the course
completion date, a course provider or a person at the course
provider's facilities shall issue [mail] a uniform certificate of
course completion by mail or commercial delivery to a person who
successfully completes an approved driving safety course.
(b) A course provider shall electronically submit to the
agency in the manner established by the agency data identified by
the agency relating to uniform certificates of course completion
issued by the course provider.
SECTION 5. Section 1001.456(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If the agency believes that a course provider, driving
safety school, or driving safety instructor has violated this
chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter, the agency may,
without notice:
(1) order a peer review of the course provider,
driving safety school, or driving safety instructor;
(2) suspend the enrollment of students in the school
or the offering of instruction by the instructor; or
(3) suspend the right to purchase [uniform
certificates of] course completion certificate numbers.
SECTION 6. Sections 1001.555(a) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
sells, trades, issues, or otherwise transfers, or possesses with
intent to sell, trade, issue, or otherwise transfer, a uniform
certificate of course completion, a course completion certificate
number, or a driver education certificate to an individual, firm,
or corporation not authorized to possess the certificate or number.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
possesses a uniform certificate of course completion, a course
completion certificate number, or a driver education certificate
and is not authorized to possess the certificate or number.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 468 was passed by the House on April
22, 2005, by a non-record vote; that the House refused to concur in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 468 on May 23, 2005, and requested the
appointment of a conference committee to consider the differences
between the two houses; and that the House adopted the conference
committee report on H.B. No. 468 on May 29, 2005, by a non-record
vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 468 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 19, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
468 on May 29, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor