82R3170 GCB-D
 
  By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 439
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the authority of the Department of Public Safety of the
  State of Texas 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)  "Department" means the Department of Public
  Safety.
               (2)  "Highway or street" and "limited-access or
  controlled-access highway" have the meanings assigned by Section
  541.302, Transportation Code.
               (3)  "Law enforcement agency" means:
                     (A)  the department;
                     (B)  the sheriff's department of a county with a
  population of 250,000 or more; or
                     (C)  the police department of a municipality with
  a population of 500,000 or more.
               (4)  "Sobriety checkpoint" means a checkpoint
  authorized under Article 65.02.
         Art. 65.02.  AUTHORIZATION FOR SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS.
  (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a law
  enforcement agency may operate on a highway or street a temporary
  sobriety checkpoint as provided by this chapter 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.
         (b)  A sobriety checkpoint may not be operated on:
               (1)  a limited-access or controlled-access highway;
               (2)  an overpass;
               (3)  a bridge or causeway; or
               (4)  the single ingress to or egress from a designated
  area.
         (c)  The department may not operate a sobriety checkpoint in
  a county with a population of less than 250,000.
         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)  Before a law enforcement agency begins the
  operation of a sobriety checkpoint, the procedures to be used in the
  operation of the checkpoint must be approved by:
               (1)  a captain for the Texas Highway Patrol, in the case
  of a checkpoint operated by the department;
               (2)  the elected sheriff of a county, in the case of a
  checkpoint operated by the sheriff's department of the county; or
               (3)  the mayor of a municipality, in the case of a
  checkpoint operated by the police department of the municipality.
         (b)  The law enforcement agency must record in writing and
  publish on an appropriate publicly accessible Internet website the
  procedures:
               (1)  used in selecting each site for a sobriety
  checkpoint; and
               (2)  to be used in the operation of each sobriety
  checkpoint, including procedures regarding the selection of motor
  vehicles to be stopped.
         (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)  a video and audio recording is made of each
  encounter;
               (2)  intrusion on the operator is minimized; and
               (3)  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, or Section 411.205, Government 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
  concealed handgun 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 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 for a criminal
  offense, the time during which an officer makes an inquiry of an
  operator 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)  Before beginning the operation of a sobriety
  checkpoint, the law enforcement agency shall publicize through the
  use of the media the date and time for the operation of the
  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 once in a
  12-month period. For the purposes of this subsection, sobriety
  checkpoints located within one mile of each other are considered to
  be at the same location.
         (m)  A law enforcement agency shall maintain until at least
  the fifth anniversary of the date on which the agency concludes the
  operation of a sobriety checkpoint a record of the operation of the
  checkpoint that contains:
               (1)  the date, time, location, and duration of the
  checkpoint;
               (2)  the procedures used in selecting the site for the
  checkpoint;
               (3)  the number and characteristics of motor vehicles
  stopped at the checkpoint;
               (4)  the number and nature of arrests made and
  citations issued at the checkpoint; and
               (5)  the identities of the peace officers operating the
  checkpoint.
         (n)  A law enforcement agency shall maintain until at least
  the second anniversary of the date on which the agency concludes the
  operation of a sobriety checkpoint any video or audio recording
  made under Subsection (g)(1) of an encounter between a motor
  vehicle operator and a peace officer at the checkpoint.
         Art. 65.05.  REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF CHECKPOINTS.
  (a)  Not later than January 15 of each calendar year, each law
  enforcement agency that operated a sobriety checkpoint during the
  preceding calendar year shall report the operation of the
  checkpoint to the traffic safety section of the traffic operations
  division of the Texas Department of Transportation.
         (b)  The traffic operations division is entitled to inspect
  any information in the possession of the law enforcement agency
  that relates to the operation of a sobriety checkpoint by the
  agency.
         (c)  Not later than February 1, 2017, the traffic operations
  division shall submit a report on the effectiveness of sobriety
  checkpoints operated under this chapter to the governor, the
  lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
  representatives.
         Art. 65.06.  EXPIRATION. This chapter expires August 31,
  2017.
         SECTION 2.  A law enforcement agency authorized to operate a
  sobriety checkpoint under Chapter 65, Code of Criminal Procedure,
  as added by this Act, shall submit the first report required by
  Article 65.05 of that chapter not later than January 15, 2012.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2011.