Sec. 522.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

Text of subdivision effective until September 01, 2021

(1) "Alcohol" means:

(A) beer, ale, port, stout, sake, or any other similar fermented beverages or products containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced wholly or in part from malt or a malt substitute;

(B) wine containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume; or

(C) distilled spirits, including ethyl alcohol, ethanol, and spirits of wine in any form, and all dilutions and mixtures of distilled spirits from whatever source or by whatever process produced.

Text of subdivision effective on September 01, 2021

(1) "Alcohol" means:

(A) malt beverages or any other similar fermented beverages or products containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced wholly or in part from malt or a malt substitute;

(B) wine, including sake, containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume; or

(C) distilled spirits, including ethyl alcohol, ethanol, and spirits of wine in any form, and all dilutions and mixtures of distilled spirits from whatever source or by whatever process produced.

(2) "Alcohol concentration" means the number of grams of alcohol for each:

(A) 100 milliliters of blood;

(B) 210 liters of breath; or

(C) 67 milliliters of urine.

(3) "Commercial driver's license" means a license issued to an individual that authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle.

(4) "Commercial learner's permit" means a permit that restricts the holder to driving a commercial motor vehicle as provided by Section 522.011(a)(2)(B).

(5) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used to transport passengers or property that:

(A) has a gross combination weight or a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, including a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight or a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;

(B) has a gross vehicle weight or a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds;

(C) is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or

(D) is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be placarded under 49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart F.

(6) "Controlled substance" means a substance classified as a controlled substance under:

(A) Section 102(6), Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. Section 802(6)), including Schedules I-V of 21 C.F.R. Part 1308; or

(B) Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.

(7) "Conviction" means:

(A) an adjudication of guilt, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court costs, or the violation of a condition of release without bail, in a court, regardless of whether the penalty is suspended, probated, or rebated; or

(B) a determination by a court, an authorized administrative tribunal or officer, or the department as authorized by this chapter that:

(i) the person has refused to give a specimen to determine the person's alcohol concentration or the presence in the person's body of a controlled substance or drug while driving a commercial motor vehicle; or

(ii) the person has driven a commercial motor vehicle while the person's alcohol concentration was 0.04 or more.

(8) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.

(9) "Disqualify" means to withdraw the privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle, including to suspend, cancel, or revoke that privilege under a state or federal law.

(10) "Domicile" means the place where a person has the person's true, fixed, and permanent home and principal residence and to which the person intends to return whenever absent.

(11) "Drive" means to operate or be in physical control of a motor vehicle.

(12) "Driver's license" has the meaning assigned by Section 521.001, except the term does not include a commercial learner's permit unless otherwise provided by this chapter.

(13) "Drug" has the meaning assigned by Section 481.002, Health and Safety Code.

(14) "Employer" means a person who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

(15) "Federal act" means the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. Section 2701 et seq.).

(16) "Foreign jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction other than a state.

(17) "Gross combination weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination or articulated vehicle or, if the manufacturer has not specified a value, the sum of the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit and the total weight of the towed unit or units and any load on a towed unit.

(18) "Gross vehicle weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.

(19) "Hazardous materials" has the meaning assigned by 49 C.F.R. Section 383.5.

(20) Repealed by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 941, Sec. 43, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

(21) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used on a highway. The term does not include a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail.

(22) "Non-domiciled commercial driver's license" means a commercial driver's license issued by a state to an individual who is domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction.

(22-a) "Non-domiciled commercial learner's permit" means a commercial learner's permit issued by a state to an individual who is domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction.

(23) "Out-of-service order" means:

(A) a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle issued under Section 522.101, the law of another state, 49 C.F.R. Section 383.5, 386.72, 392.5, 392.9a, 395.13, or 396.9, a law compatible with those federal regulations, or the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria; or

(B) a declaration by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or an authorized enforcement officer of a state or local jurisdiction that a driver, commercial motor vehicle, or motor carrier operation is out of service under 49 C.F.R. Section 383.5, 386.72, 392.5, 392.9a, 395.13, or 396.9, a law compatible with those federal regulations, or the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.

(23-a) "Person" includes the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state.

(24) "Secretary" means the United States secretary of transportation.

(24-a) "Seed cotton module" means compacted seed cotton in any form.

(25) "Serious traffic violation" means:

(A) a conviction arising from the driving of a motor vehicle, other than a parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violation, for:

(i) excessive speeding, involving a single charge of driving 15 miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit;

(ii) reckless driving, as defined by state or local law;

(iii) a violation of a state or local law related to motor vehicle traffic control, including a law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways, arising in connection with a fatal accident;

(iv) improper or erratic traffic lane change;

(v) following the vehicle ahead too closely; or

(vi) a violation of Sections 522.011 or 522.042; or

(B) a violation of Section 522.015.

(26) "State" means a state of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 941, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 991, Sec. 6, eff. June 1, 2005; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1325, Sec. 8.01, eff. June 1, 2005.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 247 (H.B. 749), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 424 (S.B. 1372), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2008.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 782 (S.B. 1093), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 752 (H.B. 1888), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2016.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1359 (H.B. 1545), Sec. 404, eff. September 1, 2021.