Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB259 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R117 JD-D
2	2	By: Berman H.B. No. 259
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the impoundment of motor vehicle license plates and the
8	8	suspension of the vehicle registration for failure to maintain
9	9	financial responsibility.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter I, Chapter 601,
12	12	Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER I. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL
14	14	RESPONSIBILITY; IMPOUNDMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLE OR LICENSE PLATES
15	15	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 601, Transportation Code,
16	16	is amended by adding Sections 601.268 and 601.269 to read as
17	17	follows:
18	18	Sec. 601.268. IMPOUNDMENT OF LICENSE PLATES BY PEACE
19	19	OFFICER. (a) If a person required by Section 601.053 to provide to
20	20	a peace officer evidence of financial responsibility for a motor
21	21	vehicle fails to provide that evidence, the officer shall:
22	22	(1) remove each license plate that is attached to the
23	23	vehicle, require the operator of or a passenger in the vehicle to
24	24	remove each license plate, or require the vehicle to be driven or
25	25	towed, at the operator's expense, to a location where each license
26	26	plate may be safely removed from the vehicle;
27	27	(2) issue the person:
28	28	(A) written notice, which shall be included on
29	29	the form required by Paragraph (B), that registration of the
30	30	vehicle from which the license plate was removed will be suspended
31	31	by the Texas Department of Transportation if the owner or operator
32	32	of the vehicle does not:
33	33	(i) recover the removed license plate
34	34	before the 11th calendar day after the date the license plate was
35	35	removed; or
36	36	(ii) after the 11th calendar day after the
37	37	date the license plate was removed but not later than the 60th day
38	38	after the date of removal, apply for replacement license plates;
39	39	(B) a written explanation, on a form designed by
40	40	the department, as to how:
41	41	(i) within 10 calendar days after the date
42	42	of impoundment, the owner or operator of the vehicle may recover a
43	43	removed license plate from the law enforcement agency that employs
44	44	the peace officer; or
45	45	(ii) on or after the 11th calendar day after
46	46	the date of impoundment but not later than the 60th day after the
47	47	date of impoundment, the owner of the vehicle may apply for
48	48	replacement license plates through the appropriate county
49	49	assessor-collector; and
50	50	(C) a temporary license plate designed by the
51	51	Texas Department of Transportation that:
52	52	(i) when attached to the rear of the
53	53	vehicle, authorizes the operation of the vehicle for a period that
54	54	expires on the 10th calendar day after its date of issuance; and
55	55	(ii) shows on its face the expiration date
56	56	of the temporary license plate; and
57	57	(3) provide for the secure impoundment of each removed
58	58	plate for the vehicle at the offices of the law enforcement agency
59	59	that employs the peace officer.
60	60	(b) Before the 11th day after the date of impoundment, the
61	61	law enforcement agency that impounds a license plate under
62	62	Subsection (a) shall release the plate to the owner or operator of
63	63	the vehicle from which the plate was removed if the owner or
64	64	operator:
65	65	(1) provides to the law enforcement agency evidence
66	66	consistent with:
67	67	(A) Section 601.053, showing that on the date the
68	68	plate was removed, the motor vehicle was in compliance with Section
69	69	601.051;
70	70	(B) Section 601.052, showing that on that date
71	71	the vehicle was exempt from the requirements of Section 601.051; or
72	72	(C) Section 601.053, showing that financial
73	73	responsibility for the vehicle has been obtained and is valid, at a
74	74	minimum, for the 180-day period that begins on the date that release
75	75	of the impounded license plate is applied for; and
76	76	(2) pays the applicable administrative fee to the law
77	77	enforcement agency in the amount established by department rule.
78	78	(c) If on or after the 11th calendar day after the date of
79	79	impoundment but not later than the 60th day after the date of
80	80	impoundment, the owner or operator of the vehicle provides proof
81	81	described by Subsection (b) to the law enforcement agency that
82	82	impounded the license plates under Subsection (a), that law
83	83	enforcement agency, shall, in the manner specified by the Texas
84	84	Department of Transportation, authorize the owner of the vehicle
85	85	from which the plates were removed to apply for replacement license
86	86	plates through the appropriate county assessor-collector.
87	87	(d) If an impounded license plate is not recovered by the
88	88	owner or operator of the vehicle under Subsection (b) before the
89	89	11th calendar day after the date the plate was removed from the
90	90	vehicle, the impounding law enforcement agency shall destroy the
91	91	license plate and notify the department or the analogous authority
92	92	in the jurisdiction that issued the plate, in the manner specified
93	93	by the department, that the law enforcement agency impounded and
94	94	subsequently destroyed the plate under this section.
95	95	(e) Not later than the 10th business day after receipt of
96	96	notice under Subsection (d), the department shall notify the Texas
97	97	Department of Transportation that the license plate described in
98	98	the notice was impounded and subsequently destroyed by the law
99	99	enforcement agency under this section. The Texas Department of
100	100	Transportation shall note on the applicable vehicle registration
101	101	record that a suspension of the vehicle registration under this
102	102	section is pending.
103	103	(f) If before the 61st day after the date of impoundment of
104	104	the license plates the Texas Department of Transportation has not
105	105	received evidence described by Subsection (b)(1), the Texas
106	106	Department of Transportation shall:
107	107	(1) suspend the registration of the vehicle for which
108	108	the license plate was issued; and
109	109	(2) mail the owner of the vehicle, at the owner's last
110	110	known address as shown by the vehicle registration records of that
111	111	department, notice of the suspension of the vehicle's registration.
112	112	(g) The department shall set separate fees to be imposed on
113	113	the owner or operator of a license plate released under Subsection
114	114	(b)(1)(A) or (B) or on the owner or operator of a license plate
115	115	released under Subsection (b)(1)(C). The fees must be reasonable
116	116	and may not exceed the amount that the department determines is
117	117	sufficient for a law enforcement agency in this state to recover the
118	118	actual cost of enforcing this section, provided that the amount of
119	119	the fee to be imposed in connection with a license plate released
120	120	under Subsection (b)(1)(A) or (B) may not exceed 50 percent of the
121	121	fee to be imposed in connection with a license plate released under
122	122	Subsection (b)(1)(C).
123	123	Sec. 601.269. REINSTATEMENT OF SUSPENDED REGISTRATION. (a)
124	124	A vehicle registration suspended under Section 601.268(f) may not
125	125	be reinstated and a new registration issued to the owner of the
126	126	vehicle until the owner of the vehicle:
127	127	(1) provides to the Texas Department of Transportation
128	128	through the county assessor-collector of the county in which the
129	129	owner resides, evidence of compliance as described by Section
130	130	601.268(b)(1); and
131	131	(2) pays to that county assessor-collector:
132	132	(A) a $100 reinstatement fee; and
133	133	(B) the fee required by Section 502.184 for the
134	134	issuance of a replacement vehicle registration.
135	135	(b) Of each $100 reinstatement fee, the county
136	136	assessor-collector may retain $10 and shall send $90 to the
137	137	comptroller for deposit to the credit of the state highway fund.
138	138	SECTION 3. Section 601.374, Transportation Code, is amended
139	139	by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
140	140	(d) This section does not apply to a vehicle registration
141	141	suspended under Section 601.268.
142	142	SECTION 4. Section 601.376, Transportation Code, is amended
143	143	by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
144	144	(d) This section does not apply to a vehicle registration
145	145	suspended under Section 601.268.
146	146	SECTION 5. (a) The Texas Department of Transportation
147	147	shall:
148	148	(1) not later than November 30, 2009, adopt rules
149	149	necessary for that department to implement and administer Section
150	150	601.268, Transportation Code, as added by this Act; and
151	151	(2) not later than December 31, 2009, provide to each
152	152	law enforcement agency in this state that employs a peace officer
153	153	who enforces Section 601.053, Transportation Code, a sufficient
154	154	number of the temporary license plates described by Section
155	155	601.268(a)(2)(C) of that code, as added by this Act.
156	156	(b) The Texas Department of Public Safety shall:
157	157	(1) not later than November 30, 2009, adopt rules
158	158	necessary for that department to implement and administer Section
159	159	601.268, Transportation Code, as added by this Act; and
160	160	(2) not later than December 31, 2009, provide to each
161	161	law enforcement agency in this state that employs a peace officer
162	162	who enforces Section 601.053, Transportation Code, a sufficient
163	163	number of the written forms described by Section 601.268(a)(2) of
164	164	that code, as added by this Act.
165	165	SECTION 6. (a) Sections 1-4 of this Act take effect January
166	166	1, 2010.
167	167	(b) Section 5 and this section of this Act take effect
168	168	September 1, 2009.