Content from our friends over at Grits For Breakfast
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 , Updated
Texas senate gives preliminary approval to sobriety checkpoints bill
The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a controversial bill that would allow law enforcement to establish sobriety checkpoints in Texas. The bill, SB 298, passed 20-11 only after its author, State Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) amended it to apply only to the state’s most populous counties and cities.
Six Republicans and four Democrats were among those casting “no” votes.
The vote broke down as follows:
Yeas: Averitt, Carona, Davis, Duncan, Ellis, Fraser, Harris, Huffman, Lucio, Nelson, Nichols, Patrick, Seliger, Shapiro, Shapleigh, VanideiPutte, Watson, Wentworth, West, Zaffirini.
Nays: Deuell, Eltife, Estes, Gallegos, Hegar, Hinojosa, Jackson, Ogden, Uresti, Whitmire, Williams.
The bill gets its third and final reading in the Senate Tuesday before moving on to the House.
Legislation similar to Carona’s has been introduced almost every legislative session since 2003. Texas is one of only a handful of states without sobriety checkpoints–to the chagrin of MADD and other special interest groups.
Texas’ ended its brief practice of sobriety checkpoints in 1994 after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals deemed them illegal unless specifically authorized by the state legislature.
We’ve commented several times on why sobriety checkpoints are a bad idea, and think it is worth noting again:
There are a lot of reasons that sobriety checkpoints are a bad idea. For one thing, they are ineffective–they often catch no one driving drunk while costing taxpayers as much as $10,000 per checkpoint. Since they are highly visible and publicized, habitual and more dangerous drunk drivers can easily avoid them.
In addition, they can cause a lot of problems for low-income drivers. For one thing, at such a checkpoint, you can bet they aren’t just going to be asking you to blow. They’ll be asking for insurance, registration, looking at every tail light, and trying, generally, to write as many tickets as possible.
This puts millions of low-income Texas drivers at risk of losing their vehicles and having to pay thousands of dollars in fines and fees when they weren’t even driving poorly. For example, if a poor Texan’s vehicle registration or inspection expires in between paychecks, they may have to wait until they get paid to get their car inspected or pay for their vehicle registration. While that driving around for a week with an expired MVI or license plate harms no one (after all, the state is still going go get their money) the ticket the low-income driver gets will harm them.
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duispy, says:
Texas needs to get ready for these checkpoints by joining www.DUISPY.com. We comb the internet for DUI checkpoint notifications every 30 minutes and send the ones in your area to your cell phone. Join now Texas. The law has passed.
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley, says:
Law hasn't passed yet, duispy -- it's just been given preliminary approval.
Staff
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
alexander troup, says:
HOW ABOUT APPLE JACK APPLE CIDER...A/T, farm boy..
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Marcquis Giddings, says:
Camera's everywhere, licence plate scanners, "DUI" checkpoints...
Lone Star State = Police State
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
jtmbls, says:
Don't forget the smoking ban. The "cow tax" is just around the corner.
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, says:
That's the one you're really worried about right?
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
jtmbls, says:
The smoking ban or the cow tax?
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jesus Valadez, says:
What's a cow tax?
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren, says:
Let the cows pay the cow tax.
Staff
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, says:
The cow tax.
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
jtmbls, says:
Jesus - There is a link on one of these threads here somewhere but I am too hung-over to find it.
In a nutshell, some environmentalist somewhere proposed a $175.00 per head tax on cattle to offset their carbon footprint. Since cows are supposedly the largest producers of methane gas, ironically due to the fact that they exist solely on a vegetarian diet. Or something like that.
Yes specialclay. I toss and turn at night worrying about the cow tax as I am sure you worry about the horse’s ass tax that is certain to follow.
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jesus Valadez, says:
Noooooooo, don't tax my cows! I need my cheap meat. :(
How am I going to live without my fajitas?
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
jtmbls, says:
I was going to say beans but then they might try to tax you! :b
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
<i>Mike Orren Staff
Let the cows pay the cow tax.</i>
Miko making me lol at the office is detrimental to me checking PN from work.
It was worth it. =p
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
Secondary lol of the thread: Finally, a spammer with USEFUL info...botching it by assuming preliminary approval means we've already converted. :(
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Andrew, says:
The argument that if a poor person's inspection or registration expires between paychecks is a weak one. Since the Texas Payday Act requires hourly employees to be paid at least 2 times a month, this in between period is 1 to 14 days. Lets say an average of 7 days.
If a cop writes you a ticket for a one week expired tag, then barring the possibility you were pulled over by Officer Powell, you were probably exhibiting an attitude problem. Also, state law allows for a maximum administration fee of about $10-$15 to dimiss that ticket if you get your car registered or inspected before the court date.
I agree with the other problems with the checkpoints, but I will not stand by when people play the minority/low income card to justify a stance. I have commented several times on this site against using that argument for justifying driving without insurance. It is the cost of owning a car.
Anonymous
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
Gotta tell ya, I'm on board with Andrew here.
Vehemently disagree with the checkpoints, however playing the "poor peeps can't afford tix" card is tough to keep your poker face on since having a car is a responsibility. Driving a heap around that can't pass a simple inspection is a danger in its own right.
I stand by the ridiculous overstepping of bounds checkpoints create when it comes to probable cause. Per <a href="http://www.dfwdwi.com/general_dwi.html#why_was_i_arrested_when_i_passed_my_field_sobriety_tests">dfwdwi.com</a> (lol @ URL, btw):
When cops are creating the circumstance, and go on to brow-beat people for information...if anything you say, do, hesitate to do, etc is - in their sole opinion - an indication you might be intoxicated, you're toast. Considering refusal of sobriety or breath/blood tests is essentially an automatic arrest, people really need to think twice before supporting this bill.
I'm sure DWI attorneys are lobbying for this, come to think of it. Seems they stand to gain the most, anyways. It's simply a padding of the record for cops - it's alotta money in the bank for attorneys just to get what is likely an unfounded charge dismissed.
Verified
8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal