81R2501 PEP-D
 
  By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 169
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Public Safety
  and certain local law enforcement agencies to establish a
  checkpoint on a highway or street to determine whether persons are
  driving while intoxicated.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
  by adding Chapter 65 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 65.  SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS
         Art. 65.01.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Highway or street" and "limited-access or
  controlled-access highway" have the meanings assigned by Section
  541.302, Transportation Code.
               (2)  "Law enforcement agency" means:
                     (A)  the Texas Department of Public Safety;
                     (B)  the sheriff's department of a county;
                     (C)  a constable's office in a county with a
  population of one million or more; or
                     (D)  the police department of a municipality.
               (3)  "Sobriety checkpoint" means a checkpoint
  authorized under Article 65.02.
         Art. 65.02.  AUTHORIZATION FOR SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS. A law
  enforcement agency may operate a temporary checkpoint as provided
  by this chapter on a highway or street, other than a limited-access
  or controlled-access highway, to determine whether persons
  operating motor vehicles on the highway or street are intoxicated
  and in violation of Section 49.04 or 49.045, Penal Code.
         Art. 65.03.  LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY COORDINATION.  Each law
  enforcement agency shall coordinate efforts with other law
  enforcement agencies as appropriate to implement this chapter.
         Art. 65.04.  APPROVAL OF AND PROCEDURES FOR SOBRIETY
  CHECKPOINTS.  (a)  A peace officer of at least the rank of
  lieutenant or its equivalent in the law enforcement agency must
  approve the operation of a sobriety checkpoint by peace officers of
  the agency and the procedures to be used in the operation of the
  checkpoint before the checkpoint begins operation.
         (b)  The law enforcement agency must record in writing the
  procedures:
               (1)  used in selecting the site for the sobriety
  checkpoint; and
               (2)  to be used in the operation of the sobriety
  checkpoint.
         (c)  The procedures for the operation of a sobriety
  checkpoint must ensure that the selection of motor vehicles to be
  stopped is reasonably predictable and nonarbitrary.
         (d)  The criteria for selecting the location for a sobriety
  checkpoint must include the number of traffic accidents in the
  vicinity of the location in which the use of alcohol was a factor
  and that occurred in the preceding 12 months and the number of
  arrests for intoxication-related offenses in that vicinity in the
  preceding 12 months. The selection of the location of a sobriety
  checkpoint must be made without regard to the ethnic or
  socioeconomic characteristics of the area in which the checkpoint
  is located.
         (e)  The law enforcement agency, in establishing the
  location, time, and design of a sobriety checkpoint, shall consider
  the safety of the public entering the checkpoint and the peace
  officers operating the checkpoint. The law enforcement agency
  shall make reasonable efforts to place signs or other devices to
  advise operators of oncoming motor vehicles of the sobriety
  checkpoint and the purpose of the checkpoint, to demarcate the
  checkpoint with flares, flags, or traffic cones, and to otherwise
  illuminate the checkpoint as necessary.
         (f)  The peace officer who makes the initial traffic
  directive or other communication with the operator of a motor
  vehicle at the sobriety checkpoint must be wearing a uniform of the
  law enforcement agency that is distinguishable from civilian dress.
         (g)  The law enforcement agency shall establish procedures
  governing the encounters between motor vehicle operators and the
  peace officers to ensure that:
               (1)  intrusion on the operator is minimized; and
               (2)  an inquiry is reasonably related to determining
  whether the operator is intoxicated and in violation of Section
  49.04 or 49.045, Penal Code.
         (h)  Notwithstanding Section 521.025 or 601.053,
  Transportation Code, a peace officer may not request a person
  operating a motor vehicle at the sobriety checkpoint to display the
  person's driver's license or to furnish evidence of financial
  responsibility unless the officer has reasonable suspicion or
  probable cause to believe that the person has committed or is
  committing an offense. A peace officer may not direct the operator
  of or a passenger in a motor vehicle to leave the vehicle or move the
  vehicle off the highway or street or routine sobriety checkpoint
  diversion route unless the officer has reasonable suspicion or
  probable cause to believe that the person has committed or is
  committing an offense. The design of a sobriety checkpoint may
  require that each motor vehicle passing through the checkpoint be
  diverted to a location adjacent to the highway or street to ensure
  safety.
         (i)  A peace officer at the sobriety checkpoint may not
  require a motor vehicle operator to perform a sobriety test unless
  the officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe
  that the operator is in violation of Section 49.04 or 49.045, Penal
  Code. A peace officer who requires or requests an operator to
  provide a specimen of breath, blood, or urine must comply with
  Chapter 724, Transportation Code.
         (j)  Unless a peace officer has reasonable suspicion or
  probable cause to detain a motor vehicle operator or passenger for a
  criminal offense, the time during which an officer makes an inquiry
  of an operator or passenger should not exceed three minutes, and the
  total time during which the operator must wait to pass through the
  checkpoint should not exceed 10 minutes. The law enforcement
  agency shall make reasonable efforts to reduce these periods to not
  more than one and five minutes, respectively.
         (k)  The law enforcement agency shall publicize the date and
  time for the operation of a sobriety checkpoint but is not required
  to disclose the location of the checkpoint.
         (l)  A law enforcement agency may not operate a sobriety
  checkpoint at one location for more than four hours and may not
  operate a checkpoint at the same location more than twice in a
  30-day period. For the purposes of this subsection, sobriety
  checkpoints located within one-half mile of each other are
  considered to be at the same location.
         (m)  A law enforcement agency shall keep a record of the
  operation of a sobriety checkpoint that contains:
               (1)  the date, time, location, and duration of the
  checkpoint;
               (2)  the number of motor vehicles stopped at the
  checkpoint and the number and nature of arrests made and citations
  issued at the checkpoint; and
               (3)  the identities of the peace officers operating the
  checkpoint.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.