S.B. No. 1617
AN ACT
relating to the titling and registration of certain motor vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 501.021, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A certificate of title for a motor vehicle that has been
the subject of an ordered repurchase or replacement under Chapter
2301, Occupations Code, must contain on its face a notice
sufficient to inform a purchaser that the motor vehicle has been the
subject of an ordered repurchase or replacement.
SECTION 2. Section 520.023, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A transferor who files the appropriate form with the
department as provided by, and in accordance with, this section,
whether that form is a part of a certificate of title or a form
otherwise promulgated by the department to comply with the terms of
this section, has no vicarious civil or criminal liability arising
out of the use, operation, or abandonment of the vehicle by another
person. Proof by the transferor that the transferor filed a form
under this section is a complete defense to an action brought
against the transferor for an act or omission, civil or criminal,
arising out of the use, operation, or abandonment of the vehicle by
another person after the transferor filed the form. A copy of the
form filed under this section is proof of the filing of the form.
SECTION 3. Section 702.003, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) This section does not apply to the registration of a
motor vehicle under Section 501.0234.
SECTION 4. Section 707.017, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 707.017. ENFORCEMENT. If the owner of a motor vehicle
is delinquent in the payment of a civil penalty imposed under this
chapter, the county assessor-collector or the Texas Department of
Transportation may refuse to register a motor vehicle alleged to
have been involved in the violation. This section does not apply to
the registration of a motor vehicle under Section 501.0234.
SECTION 5. (a) The change in law made to Section 501.021,
Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a title
issued on or after the effective date of this Act. A title issued
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The change in law made to Section 520.023,
Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a
transfer of a vehicle that occurred on or after the effective date
of this Act. A transfer that occurred before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(c) The change in law made to Sections 702.003 and 707.017,
Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a
registration period beginning on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1617 passed the Senate on
April 30, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1617 passed the House on
May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 0, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor