H.B. No. 3376
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to forms of notice that may be provided by the Department
  of Public Safety during certain enforcement proceedings and
  actions.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 521.2465, Transportation Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  The notice provided to the person by the department
  under Subsection (a) may be provided by: 
               (1)  first class mail; or
               (2)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         SECTION 2.  Section 521.295, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.295.  NOTICE OF DEPARTMENT'S DETERMINATION. (a) If
  the department suspends a person's license under Section 521.292 or
  revokes a person's license under Section 521.294, the department
  shall send a notice of suspension or revocation by:
               (1)  first class mail to the person's address in the
  records of the department; or
               (2)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         (b)  Notice is considered received on the fifth day after the
  date the notice is sent [mailed].
         SECTION 3.  Section 521.344, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (g-1) to read as
  follows:
         (g)  A revocation, suspension, or prohibition order under
  Subsection (e) or (f) remains in effect until the department
  receives notice of successful completion of the educational
  program. The director shall promptly send notice of a revocation or
  prohibition order issued under Subsection (e) or (f) by:
               (1)  first class mail to the person at the person's most
  recent address as shown in the records of the department; or
               (2)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         (g-1)  The notice provided under Subsection (g) must include
  the date of the revocation or prohibition order, the reason for the
  revocation or prohibition, and a statement that the person has the
  right to request in writing that a hearing be held on the revocation
  or prohibition. Notice is considered received on the fifth day
  after the date the notice is sent [mailed]. A revocation or
  prohibition under Subsection (e) or (f) takes effect on the 30th day
  after the date the notice is sent [mailed]. The person may request a
  hearing not later than the 20th day after the date the notice is
  sent [mailed]. If the department receives a request under this
  subsection, the department shall set the hearing for the earliest
  practical time and the revocation or prohibition does not take
  effect until resolution of the hearing.
         SECTION 4.  Section 521.457(d), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), it is an
  affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense, other than an
  offense under Section 521.341, that the person did not receive
  actual notice of a cancellation, suspension, revocation, or
  prohibition order relating to the person's license. For purposes
  of this section, actual notice is presumed if the notice was sent
  [mailed] in accordance with law.
         SECTION 5.  Section 601.124, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (d)  The department for cause may cancel a certificate of
  self-insurance after a hearing. [The self-insurer must receive at
  least five days' notice of the hearing.] Cause includes failure to
  pay a judgment before the 31st day after the date the judgment
  becomes final.
         (e)  A self-insurer must receive at least five days' notice
  of a hearing held under Subsection (d). The department shall send
  notice of the hearing to the self-insurer by:
               (1)  first class mail; or
               (2)  e-mail if the self-insurer has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         SECTION 6.  Section 601.155, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 601.155.  NOTICE OF DETERMINATION. (a) The department
  shall notify the affected person of a determination made under
  Section 601.154 by:
               (1)  personal service;
               (2)  first class mail; or
               (3)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         (b)  The notice must state that:
               (1)  the person's driver's license and vehicle
  registration or the person's nonresident's operating privilege will
  be suspended unless the person, not later than the 20th day after
  the date the notice was personally served or sent [mailed],
  establishes that:
                     (A)  this subchapter does not apply to the person,
  and the person has previously provided this information to the
  department; or
                     (B)  there is no reasonable probability that a
  judgment will be rendered against the person as a result of the
  accident; and
               (2)  the person is entitled to a hearing under this
  subchapter if a written request for a hearing is delivered or mailed
  to the department not later than the 20th day after the date the
  notice was personally served or sent [mailed].
         (c)  Notice under this section that is mailed by first class
  mail must be mailed to the person's last known address, as shown by
  the department's records.
         (d)  For purposes of this section, notice is presumed to be
  received if the notice was sent [mailed] to the person's last known
  address or e-mail address, as shown by the department's records.
         SECTION 7.  Section 601.156(c), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The department shall summon the person requesting the
  hearing to appear at the hearing. Notice under this subsection:
               (1)  shall be:
                     (A)  delivered through personal service;
                     (B)  [or] mailed by first class mail to the
  person's last known address, as shown by the department's records;
  or
                     (C)  sent by e-mail if the person has provided an
  e-mail address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically; and
               (2)  [. The notice] must include written charges issued
  by the department.
         SECTION 8.  Section 601.159, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 601.159.  PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENSION OF DRIVER'S LICENSE
  AND VEHICLE REGISTRATION OR PRIVILEGE. The department shall suspend
  the driver's license and each vehicle registration of an owner or
  operator or the nonresident's operating privilege of an owner or
  operator unless:
               (1)  if a hearing is not requested, the person, not
  later than the 20th day after the date the notice under Section
  601.155 was personally served or sent [mailed]:
                     (A)  delivers or mails to the department a written
  request for a hearing;
                     (B)  shows that this subchapter does not apply to
  the person; or
                     (C)  complies with Section 601.153; or
               (2)  the person complies with Section 601.153 not later
  than the 20th day after:
                     (A)  the date of the expiration of the period in
  which an appeal may be brought, if the determination at a hearing is
  rendered against the owner or operator and the owner or operator
  does not appeal; or
                     (B)  the date of a decision against the person
  following the appeal.
         SECTION 9.  Section 601.161, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 601.161.  NOTICE OF SUSPENSION. Not later than the 11th
  day before the effective date of a suspension under Section
  601.159, the department shall send notice of the suspension to each
  affected owner or operator. The department shall send the notice by
  first class mail or by e-mail to any owner or operator who has
  provided an e-mail address to the department and who has elected to
  receive notice electronically. The notice must state the amount
  required as security under Section 601.153 and the necessity for
  the owner or operator to file evidence of financial responsibility
  with the department.
         SECTION 10.  Section 601.232(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall send [mail] in a timely manner a
  notice to each person whose driver's license and vehicle
  registrations are suspended under Section 601.231.
         SECTION 11.  Section 601.371(b), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
  section that the person had not received notice of a suspension
  order concerning the person's vehicle registration. For purposes
  of this subsection, notice is presumed to be received if the notice
  was sent [mailed] in accordance with this chapter to the last known
  address or e-mail address of the person as shown by department
  records.
         SECTION 12.  Section 601.372, Transportation Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection
  (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b)  The notice must be provided by:
               (1)  personal delivery to the person;
               (2)  [or by] deposit in the United States mail
  addressed to the person at the last address supplied to the
  department by the person; or
               (3)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         (b-1)  Notice provided under Subsection (b) by mail or e-mail
  is presumed to be received on the 10th day after the date the notice
  is sent [mailed].
         (d)  Proof of the notice may be made by the certificate of a
  department employee stating that:
               (1)  the notice was prepared in the regular course of
  business and placed in the United States mail or sent by e-mail as
  part of the regular organized activity of the department; or
               (2)  the employee delivered the notice in person.
         SECTION 13.  Section 708.055, Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 708.055.  NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF FIFTH POINT. The
  department shall notify the holder of a driver's license of the
  assignment of a fifth point on that license by:
               (1)  first class mail sent to the person's most recent
  address as shown on the records of the department; or
               (2)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically.
         SECTION 14.  Section 708.151(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall send notices as required by
  Subsection (b) to the holder of a driver's license when a surcharge
  is assessed on that license. Each notice must:
               (1)  be sent by:
                     (A)  first class mail to the person's most recent
  address as shown on the records of the department or to the person's
  most recent forwarding address on record with the United States
  Postal Service if it is different; or
                     (B)  e-mail if the person has provided an e-mail
  address to the department and has elected to receive notice
  electronically;
               (2)  specify the date by which the surcharge must be
  paid;
               (3)  state the total dollar amount of the surcharge
  that must be paid, the number of monthly payments required under an
  installment payment plan, and the minimum monthly payment required
  for a person to enter and maintain an installment payment plan with
  the department; and
               (4)  state the consequences of a failure to pay the
  surcharge.
         SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3376 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 1, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3376 was passed by the Senate on May
  24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor