Our legislature meets only 140 days every odd year, and there are only 22 days remaining. Legislators are spending more and more time on the floor as bills come up for debate.  This week, several substantive bills were debated before the House. 

House Bill 339, which I authored, was passed on Wednesday, May 6.  This bill, named the Less Tears More Years Act, seeks to make substantive changes in the way we in Texas educate our young drivers in order to reduce the number of accidents in which teens are involved.  Texas has one of the highest accident rates among teen drivers in the nation.  During the interim, I chaired a study committee on teen driver safety, during which time we heard from educators, parents, professional driving instructors, law enforcement, first responders, the Home School Coalition, the Texas Transportation Institute, Department of  Public Safety and the Texas Education Agency. 

HB 339 is based on the findings of that subcommittee, and makes the following changes to the law regarding teen driving: requires an additional 20 hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience with an adult before licensure;  bans the use of all wireless communications devices by anyone 18, except in case of an emergency;  extends the prohibiting of driving with more than one other person under the age of 21 for an additional 6 months; and extends the prohibition of driving between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., except in the case of emergency, employment, or school activity;  mandates that anyone under 18 is required to take a driving test administered by DPS in order to receive their license.  The bill also instructs the Texas Education Agency and the Department of Public Safety to study the driver's education curriculum as it is currently offered by the state and make changes to make it more effective and user-friendly.

I would like to thank and recognize the efforts of our local communities and the Less Tears, More Years organization, and in particular Brett Arterburn, Pottsboro Police Chief, and Phil Johnson, who lost his daughter Shelby in an automobile accident.  Chief Arterburn and Mr. Johnson traveled to Austin to witness the vote on HB 339, and I greatly appreciate their support throughout this process. 

Also passed this week by the House was House Bill 300, which was the sunset bill for Texas Department of Transportation. State agencies come up for "sunset" or review, every so many years.  This year, the Department of Transportation was up for review.  HB 300 repeals the provisions in the law regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor, streamlines the functions of the department, and seeks to make the actions of the department more transparent.  Additionally, the bill gives the legislature more direct oversight of the department.   

For more information on the legislative process, please visit the website www.capitol.state.tx.us.  You can contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.    My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297. 

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