S.B. No. 335

	AN ACT
	relating to the taking of a specimen to test for intoxication and
	retention and preservation of toxicological evidence of certain
	intoxication offenses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Article 38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended by amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding
	Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:
	(c)  An entity or individual described by Subsection (b)
	shall ensure that toxicological evidence collected pursuant to an
	investigation or prosecution of an offense under Chapter 49, Penal
	Code, is retained and preserved, as applicable:
	(1)  for the greater of two years or the period of the
	statute of limitations for the offense, if the indictment or
	information charging the defendant, or the petition in a juvenile
	proceeding, has not been presented or has been dismissed without
	prejudice;
	(2)  for the duration of a defendant's sentence or term
	of community supervision, as applicable, if the defendant is
	convicted or placed on community supervision, or for the duration
	of the commitment or supervision period applicable to the
	disposition of a juvenile adjudicated as having engaged in
	delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision; or
	(3)  until the defendant is acquitted or the indictment
	or information is dismissed with prejudice, or, in a juvenile
	proceeding, until a hearing is held and the court does not find the
	child engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need
	for supervision.
	(d)  A person from whom toxicology evidence was collected
	and, if the person is a minor, the person's parent or guardian,
	shall be notified [For each offense subject to this article, the
	court shall determine as soon as practicable the appropriate
	retention and preservation period for the toxicological evidence
	under Subsection (c) and notify the defendant or the child or
	child's guardian and the entity or individual charged with storage
	of the toxicological evidence] of the periods [period] for which
	[the] evidence may [is to] be retained and preserved under this
	article. The notice must be given by:
	(1)  an entity or individual described by Subsection
	(b) that collects the evidence, if the entity or individual
	collected the evidence directly from the person or collected it
	from a third party; or
	(2)  the court, if the records of the court show that
	the person was not given the notice described by Subdivision (1) and
	the toxicological evidence is subject to the retention period under
	Subsection (c)(2) or (3) [If an action of the prosecutor or the
	court changes the applicable period under Subsection (c), the court
	shall notify the persons described by this subsection about the
	change].
	(e)  The entity or individual charged with storing
	toxicological evidence may destroy the evidence on expiration of
	the applicable retention period:
	(1)  described by Subsection (c)(1); or
	(2)  described by Subsection (c)(2) or (c)(3), provided
	that:
	(A)  notice was given in accordance with this
	article; and
	(B)  if applicable, the prosecutor's office gives
	written approval for the destruction under Subsection (h) [provided
	by the notice most recently issued by the court under Subsection
	(d)].
	(g)  Notice given under this article must be given:
	(1)  in writing, as soon as practicable, by hand
	delivery, e-mail, or first class mail to the person's last known
	e-mail or mailing address; or
	(2)  if applicable, orally and in writing on requesting
	the specimen under Section 724.015, Transportation Code.
	(h)  A prosecutor's office may require that an entity or
	individual charged with storing toxicological evidence seek
	written approval from the prosecutor's office before destroying
	toxicological evidence subject to the retention period under
	Subsection (c)(2) or (c)(3) for cases in which the prosecutor's
	office presented the indictment, information, or petition.
	SECTION 2.  Section 724.015, Transportation Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 724.015.  INFORMATION PROVIDED BY OFFICER BEFORE
	REQUESTING SPECIMEN; STATEMENT OF CONSENT.  (a) Before requesting
	a person to submit to the taking of a specimen, the officer shall
	inform the person orally and in writing that:
	(1)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
	the specimen, that refusal may be admissible in a subsequent
	prosecution;
	(2)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of
	the specimen, the person's license to operate a motor vehicle will
	be automatically suspended, whether or not the person is
	subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest, for not less than
	180 days;
	(3)  if the person refuses to submit to the taking of a
	specimen, the officer may apply for a warrant authorizing a
	specimen to be taken from the person;
	(4)  if the person is 21 years of age or older and
	submits to the taking of a specimen designated by the officer and an
	analysis of the specimen shows the person had an alcohol
	concentration of a level specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the
	person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
	suspended for not less than 90 days, whether or not the person is
	subsequently prosecuted as a result of the arrest;
	(5)  if the person is younger than 21 years of age and
	has any detectable amount of alcohol in the person's system, the
	person's license to operate a motor vehicle will be automatically
	suspended for not less than 60 days even if the person submits to
	the taking of the specimen, but that if the person submits to the
	taking of the specimen and an analysis of the specimen shows that
	the person had an alcohol concentration less than the level
	specified by Chapter 49, Penal Code, the person may be subject to
	criminal penalties less severe than those provided under that
	chapter;
	(6)  if the officer determines that the person is a
	resident without a license to operate a motor vehicle in this state,
	the department will deny to the person the issuance of a license,
	whether or not the person is subsequently prosecuted as a result of
	the arrest, under the same conditions and for the same periods that
	would have applied to a revocation of the person's driver's license
	if the person had held a driver's license issued by this state;
	[and]
	(7)  the person has a right to a hearing on the
	suspension or denial if, not later than the 15th day after the date
	on which the person receives the notice of suspension or denial or
	on which the person is considered to have received the notice by
	mail as provided by law, the department receives, at its
	headquarters in Austin, a written demand, including a facsimile
	transmission, or a request in another form prescribed by the
	department for the hearing; and
	(8)  if the person submits to the taking of a blood
	specimen, the specimen will be retained and preserved in accordance
	with Article 38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(b)  If a person consents to the request of an officer to
	submit to the taking of a specimen, the officer shall request the
	person to sign a statement that:
	(1)  the officer requested that the person submit to
	the taking of a specimen;
	(2)  the person was informed of the consequences of not
	submitting to the taking of a specimen; and
	(3)  the person voluntarily consented to the taking of
	a specimen.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and
	(c) of this section, the changes in law made by this Act to Article
	38.50, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to evidence for which
	the appropriate retention and preservation period under that
	article expires on or after the effective date of this Act.
	Evidence for which the appropriate retention and preservation
	period expired before the effective date of this Act is governed by
	the law in effect on the date of expiration of that period, and the
	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  If the applicable retention and preservation period
	under Article 38.50(c)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, has expired
	with respect to toxicological evidence held in storage on the
	effective date of this Act, and notice regarding that evidence has
	not yet been given under Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal
	Procedure, as that subsection existed immediately before the
	effective date of this Act, the entity or individual charged with
	storing the evidence may destroy the evidence pursuant to Article
	38.50(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act.
	(c)  If the appropriate retention and preservation period
	under Article 38.50(c)(2) or (3), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
	applicable, has expired with respect to evidence held in storage on
	the effective date of this Act, and notice regarding that evidence
	has not yet been given under Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal
	Procedure, as that subsection existed immediately before the
	effective date of this Act, the court shall provide the notice
	required by Article 38.50(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
	amended by this Act, not later than September 1, 2022.
	(d)  The change in law made by this Act to Section 724.015,
	Transportation Code, applies only to a request for the taking of a
	breath or blood specimen to test for intoxication that occurs on or
	after the effective date of this Act.  A request for the taking of a
	specimen that occurs before the effective date of this Act is
	governed by the law in effect on the date the specimen was
	requested, and the former law is continued in effect for that
	purpose.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 335 passed the Senate on
	April 19, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 335 passed the House on
	May 25, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 104, Nays 39, two
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor