Proposed Changes to Marijuana Laws

There are several proposed legislative changes to the marijuana laws in Texas right now.  Some of the proposed changes are asking for less penalties and some of them are asking for more penalties.  I guess we will have to just sit back and see what will happen.  These proposed changes may not go anywhere and could just die on the vine.

One of the proposed changes has been put forth by Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. (D-Houston).  His bill would reduce the penalty for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B misdemeanor (punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,000) to a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a fine of up to $500). 

The current penalties for possession of Marijuana are:

Weight	Classification	Penalty
2 ounces or less	Class B misdemeanor	Not more than 180 days in a county jail and/or a fine of not more than $2,000
More than 2 ounces, but less than 4 ounces	Class A misdemeanor	Not more than 1 year in a county jail and/or a fine of not more than $4,000
More than 4 ounces, but less than 5 pounds	State jail felony	180 days to 2 years in a state jail and/or a fine of not more than $10,000
More than 5 pounds, but less than 50 pounds	Third-degree felony	2 to 10 years in a state prison and/or a fine of not more than $10,000
More than 50 pounds, but less than 2,000	Second-degree felony	2 to 20 years in a state prison and/or a fine of not more than $10,000
More than 2,000 pounds	Enhanced first-degree felony	5 to 99 years and a fine of not more than $50,000

You can also be sentenced to a suspended driver’s license for up to six months following a conviction on any violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act, including marijauna.  The above penalties have the option of probation depending on the individual circumstances.

If you are interested in getting legislative updates regarding Marijuana issues you can go to http://www.mpp.org/takeaction/subscribe-to-alerts.html and sign up to receive email updates.

Attention: DPS Surcharge Amnesty Program

Greetings,

DPS is offering an amazing program.  If you or someone you know has surcharges on their driver's license please look at the link below.  There are people with DWI's and old traffic warrants that owe thousands of dollars in surcharges.  Well, DPS is offering an amnesty program that is cutting those fees down to 10% of the amount owed....Not 10% off, but 10% of the fees owed. 

This will help so many people to get into compliance.  I do not want anyone to miss out on this.  Please forward this email to everyone in your database, whether you know that they have surcharges or not.

Check out the qualifications in the link beleow:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/pr012511.pdf

Driver's License Suspension (Part 3)

Over the last couple of posts I have been discussing some of the ins and outs of driver's license suspension and what a person can do if their driver's license is suspended.  Today I want to talk about what can happen if a person is caught driving after their license is suspended.

Let's face it, driving is very important to all of us.  We need to be able to drive to go to work, take children to school, and run our day to day errands.  But, if a persons driver's license has been suspended they are not supposed to drive.

So, here are some of the penalties for getting caught driving with a suspended license:

• First time: a first time offense is a class C misdemeanor.  That means it is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500;
• Second time: a second time offense is a class B misdemeanor.  That means it is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and up to 6 months confinement in county jail; or
• Accident while license suspended: if a person has an accident causing serious bodily injury or death, the offense is a class A misdemeanor.  That means it is punishable by a fine not to exceed $4,000 and up to 1 year confinement in a county jail.

These penalties can be very severe.  That is why it is important that a person who has a suspended license should either take public transportation or get someone to give them a ride until the person can get a hearing on the suspension.

Getting caught driving with a suspended license will just make the situation worse.  It can cost a person money and freedom.

Driver's License Suspension (Part 2)

In my last post I explained reasons why there is an increase in driver's license suspensions, some of the reasons why a persons driver's license may be suspended, and a link to check your driving record.

Today I want to explain how a person will be notified of a driver's license suspension, the effective date of the suspension, and what  a person can do if they receive a notice of suspension.

First, when the Texas Department of Public Safety makes a determination that a persons driver's license should be suspended a notice will be sent to the address on the persons driver's license.  Many times people will not receive the notification because they have moved.  However, the Department presumes that it has been received on the fifth day after the date the notice is mailed.

Second, a license suspension takes effect on the 40th day after the date the person is considered to have received the notice.

Finally,  a person has 15 days to request a hearing to contest the suspension.  If the person loses at the hearing level, the person may appeal the decision.

The driver's license suspension process that I have just explained  is administrative. The administrative process has many rules.  These rules are to be followed exactly.  If they are not, a person may lose their right to contest an administrative driver's license suspension.

If a person has their driver's license suspended they should not drive.  I will explain why in my next post.

Driver's License Suspension (Part 1)

There is an increasing number of  people driving around with a suspended driver's license today.  This increase is caused by several reasons.  First, there are many criminal offenses that may result in driver's license suspension, such as DWIs and Possession of marijuana.  Second, many cities are writing a huge amount of traffic citations to balance the city's budget.  Third, the state of Texas has started assessing surcharges that must be paid in addition to fines and court costs for criminal offenses and traffic citations.

Over the next few days I will give you information regarding some of the reasons that a person's driver's license may be suspended, the penalty for driving while license suspended and what a person can do if their license is suspended.

Some of the reasons a persons driver's license may be suspended are:

• driving 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;

• a person is a habitually reckless or negligent operator of a motor vehicle;

• a person is a habitual violator of traffic laws;

• a person has permitted the unlawful or fraudulent use  of the person's license;

• a person has committed an offense in another state or Canadian province that, if committed in this state, would be grounds for suspension;

• a person has been convicted of two or more separate offenses of a violation of a restriction imposed on the use of the license;

• a person has been responsible as a driver for any accident resulting in serious personal injury or serious property damage; or 

• a person is the holder of a provisional license and has been convicted of two or more moving violations within a 12-month period.                                          

If you would like to know if your driver's license is suspended and you have a Texas driver's license check out your driving record here: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/dlfork.aspx?action=record.