H.B. No. 3272
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a
  driver's license or personal identification certificate and to
  certain conduct constituting contempt of court that may result in
  the suspension or denial of a driver's license.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Article 45.050, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         Art. 45.050.  FAILURE TO PAY FINE; FAILURE TO APPEAR;
  CONTEMPT: JUVENILES.
         SECTION 2.  Article 45.050(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A justice or municipal court may not order the
  confinement of a child for:
               (1)  the failure to pay all or any part of a fine or
  costs imposed for the conviction of an offense punishable by fine
  only; [or]
               (2)  the failure to appear for an offense committed by
  the child; or
               (3)  contempt of another order of a justice or
  municipal court.
         SECTION 3.  Section 521.292(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall suspend the person's license if the
  department determines that the person:
               (1)  has operated a motor vehicle on a highway while the
  person's license was suspended, canceled, disqualified, or
  revoked, or without a license after an application for a license was
  denied;
               (2)  is a habitually reckless or negligent operator of
  a motor vehicle;
               (3)  is a habitual violator of the traffic laws;
               (4)  has permitted the unlawful or fraudulent use of
  the person's license;
               (5)  has committed an offense in another state or
  Canadian province that, if committed in this state, would be
  grounds for suspension;
               (6)  has been convicted of two or more separate
  offenses of a violation of a restriction imposed on the use of the
  license;
               (7)  has been responsible as a driver for any accident
  resulting in serious personal injury or serious property damage;
               (8)  is under 18 years of age [the holder of a
  provisional license issued under Section 521.123] and has been
  convicted of two or more moving violations committed within a
  12-month period; or
               (9)  has committed an offense under Section 545.421.
         SECTION 4.  Section 521.294, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.294.  DEPARTMENT'S DETERMINATION FOR LICENSE
  REVOCATION. The department shall revoke the person's license if
  the department determines that the person:
               (1)  is incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle;
               (2)  has not complied with the terms of a citation
  issued by a jurisdiction that is a party to the Nonresident Violator
  Compact of 1977 for a traffic violation to which that compact
  applies;
               (3)  has failed to provide medical records or has
  failed to undergo medical or other examinations as required by a
  panel of the medical advisory board;
               (4)  has failed to pass an examination required by the
  director under this chapter; or
               (5)  [has been reported by a court under Section
  521.3452 for failure to appear unless the court files an additional
  report on final disposition of the case;
               [(6)     has been reported within the preceding two years
  by a justice or municipal court for failure to appear or for a
  default in payment of a fine for a misdemeanor punishable only by
  fine, other than a failure reported under Section 521.3452,
  committed by a person who is at least 14 years of age but younger
  than 17 years of age when the offense was committed, unless the
  court files an additional report on final disposition of the case;
  or
               [(7)]  has committed an offense in another state or
  Canadian province that, if committed in this state, would be
  grounds for revocation.
         SECTION 5.  Section 521.300, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  A hearing under this subchapter may be conducted by
  telephone or video conference call if the presiding officer
  provides notice to the affected parties.
         SECTION 6.  Section 521.314, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.314.  CANCELLATION AUTHORITY. The department may
  cancel a license or certificate if it determines that the holder:
               (1)  is [was] not entitled to the license or
  certificate; [or]
               (2)  failed to give required information in the
  application for the license or certificate; or
               (3)  paid the required fee for the license or
  certificate by check or credit card that was returned to the
  department or not honored by the funding institution or credit card
  company due to insufficient funds, a closed account, or any other
  reason.
         SECTION 7.  The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
  521.292, 521.294, and 521.314, Transportation Code, apply only to a
  determination to suspend, revoke, or cancel a driver's license or
  personal identification certificate made by the Department of
  Public Safety on or after the effective date of this Act.  A
  determination to suspend, revoke, or cancel a driver's license or
  personal identification certificate made before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the determination
  was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3272 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3272 was passed by the Senate on May
  24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor