S.B. No. 1372
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the operation of motor vehicles and commercial motor
  vehicles.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 521.049, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The department shall respond to a request for a driving
  record check received from another state under 49 C.F.R. Section
  384.206 within 30 days of the date of the request.
         SECTION 2.  Section 521.297, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.297.  SUSPENSION, [OR] REVOCATION, OR
  DISQUALIFICATION EFFECTIVE DATE. (a)  A license suspension under
  Section 521.292 or revocation under Section 521.294 takes effect on
  the 40th day after the date the person is considered to have
  received notice of the suspension or revocation under Section
  521.295(b).
         (b)  A license disqualification under Section 522.081(a)
  takes effect on the 40th day after the date the person is considered
  to have received notice of the disqualification under Section
  521.295(b), unless a disqualification is currently in effect. If a
  disqualification is currently in effect, the periods of
  disqualifications run consecutively.
         SECTION 3.  Subdivisions (7) and (19), Section 522.003,
  Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
               (7)  "Conviction" means:
                     (A)  an adjudication of guilt, an unvacated
  forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's
  appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by
  the court, the payment of a fine or court costs, or the violation of
  a condition of release without bail, in a court, regardless of
  whether the penalty is suspended, probated, or rebated; or
                     (B)  a determination by a court, an authorized
  administrative tribunal or officer, or the department as authorized
  by this chapter that:
                           (i)  the person has refused to give a
  specimen to determine the person's alcohol concentration or the
  presence in the person's body of a controlled substance or drug
  while driving a commercial motor vehicle; or
                           (ii)  the person has driven a commercial
  motor vehicle while the person's alcohol concentration was 0.04 or
  more.
               (19)  "Hazardous materials" has the meaning assigned by
  49 C.F.R. Section 383.5 [the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
  (49 U.S.C. Section 1801 et seq.)].
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (a), Section 522.004, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  This chapter does not apply to:
               (1)  a vehicle that is controlled and operated by a
  farmer and:
                     (A)  used to transport agricultural products,
  farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm;
                     (B)  used within 150 miles of the person's farm;
  and
                     (C)  not used in the operations of a common or
  contract motor carrier;
               (2)  a fire-fighting or emergency vehicle necessary to
  the preservation of life or property or the execution of emergency
  governmental functions, whether operated by an employee of a
  political subdivision or by a volunteer fire fighter;
               (3)  a military vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle,
  when operated for military purposes by military personnel,
  including:
                     (A)  active duty military personnel, including
  personnel serving in the United States Coast Guard; and
                     (B)  members of the reserves and national guard on
  active duty, including personnel on full-time national guard duty,
  personnel engaged in part-time training, and national guard
  military technicians;
               (4)  a recreational vehicle that is driven for personal
  use;
               (5)  a vehicle that is owned, leased, or controlled by
  an air carrier, as defined by Section 21.155, and that is driven or
  operated exclusively by an employee of the air carrier only on the
  premises of an airport, as defined by Section 22.001, on service
  roads to which the public does not have access; or
               (6)  a vehicle used exclusively to transport seed
  cotton modules or cotton burrs.
         SECTION 5.  Section 522.023, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
         (h)  An applicant who pays the applicable fee required by
  Section 522.029 is entitled to three examinations of each element
  under Section 522.022. If the applicant has not qualified after the
  third examination, the applicant must submit a new application
  accompanied by the required fee.
         (i)  The department may not issue a commercial driver's
  license to a person who has not passed each examination required
  under this chapter.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter D, Chapter 522, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 522.0425 to read as follows:
         Sec. 522.0425.  HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ENDORSEMENT;
  CANCELLATION. (a)  The department shall cancel or deny the
  issuance of a hazardous materials endorsement of a person's
  commercial driver's license within 15 days of the date the
  department receives notification from a federal agency authorized
  to make a final determination of threat assessment under 49 C.F.R.
  Section 1572.13.
         (b)  On receipt of a notification from a federal agency
  authorized to make an initial determination of threat assessment
  under 49 C.F.R. Section 1572.13, the department shall immediately
  cancel or deny the person the issuance of a hazardous materials
  endorsement of a commercial driver's license.
         (c)  The cancellation or denial of a hazardous materials
  endorsement under this section shall be reported to the commercial
  driver's license information system before the 16th day after the
  date of cancellation or denial.
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter E, Chapter 522, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 522.054 and 522.055 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 522.054.  DENIAL OF RENEWAL OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER
  LICENSE. (a)  In the manner ordered by a court in another state in
  connection with a matter involving the violation of a state law or
  local ordinance relating to motor vehicle traffic control and on
  receipt of the necessary information from the other state, the
  department may deny renewal of the commercial driver's license
  issued to a person by the department for the person's:
               (1)  failure to appear in connection with a complaint
  or citation; or
               (2)  failure to pay or satisfy a judgment ordering the
  payment of a fine and costs.
         (b)  The information necessary under Subsection (a) may be
  transmitted through the commercial driver's license information
  system and must include:
               (1)  the name, date of birth, and the commercial
  driver's license number of the license held by the person;
               (2)  notice that the person failed to appear as
  required by law or failed to satisfy a judgment that ordered the
  payment of a fine and costs in the manner ordered by the court;
               (3)  the nature of the violation; and
               (4)  any other information required by the department.
         Sec. 522.055.  CLEARANCE NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT. On receipt
  of notice from the other state that the grounds for denial of the
  renewal of the commercial driver's license based on the license
  holder's previous failure to appear or failure to pay a fine and
  costs previously reported by that state under Section 522.054 have
  ceased to exist, the department shall renew the person's commercial
  driver's license.
         SECTION 8.  Subsection (a), Section 522.071, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if the person drives a
  commercial motor vehicle on a highway:
               (1)  after the person has been denied the issuance of a
  license, unless the person has a driver's license appropriate for
  the class of vehicle being driven that was subsequently issued;
               (2)  during a period that a disqualification of the
  person's driver's license or privilege is in effect;
               (3)  while the person's driver's license is expired, if
  the license expired during a period of disqualification;
               (4)  during a period that the person was subject to an
  order prohibiting the person from obtaining a driver's license; or
               (5)  during a period in which the person, the person's
  employer, or the vehicle being operated is subject to an
  out-of-service order.
         SECTION 9.  Subsection (a), Section 522.072, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  An employer may not knowingly permit a person to drive a
  commercial motor vehicle during a period in which [the person]:
               (1)  the person has been denied the privilege of
  driving a commercial motor vehicle;
               (2)  the person is disqualified from driving a
  commercial motor vehicle;
               (3)  the person, the person's employer, or the vehicle
  being operated is subject to an out-of-service order in a state; or
               (4)  the person has more than one commercial driver's
  license, except during the 10-day period beginning on the date the
  person is issued a driver's license.
         SECTION 10.  Section 522.081, Transportation Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
         (h)  A disqualification imposed under Subsection (g) must
  run concurrently with any imminent hazard disqualification that is
  then currently in effect.
         SECTION 11.  Section 522.087, Transportation Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  A disqualification imposed under Section 522.081(a)
  must run consecutively to any other disqualification that is then
  currently in effect.
         SECTION 12.  Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 545.426 to read as follows:
         Sec. 545.426.  OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH INSUFFICIENT
  UNDERCARRIAGE CLEARANCE. (a)  An operator may not drive on or
  cross a railroad grade crossing unless the vehicle being operated
  has sufficient undercarriage clearance.
         (b)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
  punishable by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $200.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2008.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1372 passed the Senate on
  April 19, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 17, 2007, by the
  following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1372 passed the House, with
  amendment, on May 9, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
  Nays 0, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor