HOUSTON—It is common knowledge that drunken-driving laws in America vary from state-to-state, but in Texas, they often differ between counties. This “checkerboard” system of enforcement has recently come under fire, with local judges, lawmakers and upset residents calling for congruent reform and the elimination of hefty surcharges often imposed on top of criminal penalties.

Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, has taken special issue with the state’s Driver Responsibility Program (DRP), which includes a surcharge of $1000 annually for three years for first-time driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) offenders. Too often, motorists simply opt not to pay the fines, which Whitmire and law officers said means more people driving without licenses or insurance.

The DRP was created in 2003 as a funding tool for trauma care centers and transportation projects. The program established a system that assigns points to moving violations, and applies subsequent automatic surcharges to offenders.

• Points are accumulated for moving violation convictions. For any consecutive three-year period in which a driver accumulates 6 points, he or she is assessed a $100 annual surcharge that is imposed annually until such time as his or her point total drops below 6. Each additional point on a driver's record will cost an additional $25 a year;
• Under the program, driving while intoxicated carries an automatic $1,000 annual surcharge for a first offense. Each subsequent conviction carries an additional $1,500 annual surcharge;
• Driving without a license carries a $150 penalty, plus a $100 annual surcharge, making the total violation $450. Driving with an invalid license would cost a driver $150, plus a $250 annual surcharge, making the total violation $900;
• Texans caught driving without proof of insurance would be required to pay a $250 fee, plus an automatic annual surcharge of $250 for three years from the date of their conviction, making the total cost of the violation $1,000; and
• Should a driver commit one of these latter two violations again within that three years, they would be assessed an additional annual surcharge.

Critics of the program argue that many Texans affected by these automatic surcharges are first-time offenders, students, single parents or low-income families, who are faced the choice of either complying with the law or paying for their education, rent food or emergency expenses like car repairs or medical bills. Others simply opt not to pay, and as of April 2010, 1.2 million Texans owed the state more than $1 billion in unpaid surcharges.

For proponents of the DRP, whatever money has been collected through the program has been a godsend. Quoted in the July 2010 issue of Texas Medicine Magazine, Dr. Ronald Stuart, MD, chair of the Trauma Stystems Committee of the Governor’s EMS & Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) said, “The expansion of Texas trauma centers under the DRP has led to improved coverage of timely access to care when people need it the most. What we’re talking about is access and quality of care…[which is] why preserving the DRP and other funding programs is important.”

Dr. Stewart said that most trauma physicians and trauma facility administrators are sympathetic to the challenges inherent in the DRP and are willing to work to improve the program. “We’re not opposed to making the system better. We believe that in spite of its problems, the DRP is, in general, a fair and equitable way to pay for uncompensated trauma care in Texas.”

Dr. Stewart’s opponents, however, couldn’t disagree more.

With Texas’ varying DWI laws, Sen. Whitmire asserts prosecutors are recognizing that the surcharges imposed by the program are “a burden [defendants] can’t meet and they’re allowing them to plead to something other than DWI.” He voiced concern that the absence of a formal DWI charge would hide an individual’s first drunken-driving offense, allowing him to avoid enhanced penalties if he offends again.

In Harris County, for example, District Attorney Pat Lykos’ office allows defendants facing drunken driving charges for the first time to plead guilty to DWI with the option of completing a strictly probated program, after which the conviction can be wiped off their record. And in Bexar County, District Attorney Susan Reed dealt with a backlog of cases by allowing first-time DWI offenders to plead instead to a charge of “obstruction of a highway—intoxication”. Both options allow the accused to avoid the DRP-imposed surcharges.

Perhaps the only thing that parties on either side of the debate can agree on is that the DRP is not perfect, and as such, the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, headed by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has been given the responsibility of vetting it before the 2011 legislative session. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is also working on new rules for the program to ease the surcharges for lower-income drivers.

Until such time that the existing surcharges are reduced or eliminated, being charged with DWI anywhere in Texas can have serious and life-changing consequences. If you or someone you know has been involved in a drunk driving incident, contact the experienced team of attorneys at Sullo & Sullo, LLP. Our lawyers understand how much is at stake in a DWI case and will fight for your rights. Call us at 713.839.9026 or visit our website at www.sullolaw.com for a free legal consultation today.