83R2673 VOO-D
By: Davis S.B. No. 1154
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to delinquent motor vehicle registrations and
inspections; authorizing a change in the amount of a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 502.045(d) and (e), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) A person who has been arrested or received a citation
for a violation of Section 502.472 may register the vehicle being
operated at the time of the offense for a 12-month period without
change to the initial month of registration only if the person:
(1) meets the other requirements for registration
under this chapter; and
(2) as applicable, pays [an additional charge equal to
20 percent of] the appropriate [prescribed] fee established under
Section 502.360.
(e) The board by rule shall adopt a list of evidentiary
items sufficient to establish good reason for delinquent
registration under Subsection (b) and provide for the evidence that
may be used to establish good reason under that subsection. The
rules must require the evidence to include an affidavit stating the
reason.
SECTION 2. Section 502.048, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 502.048. PROOF OF SAFETY INSPECTION REQUIRED; REFUSAL
TO REGISTER UNSAFE VEHICLE. (a) The department may not register a
vehicle unless the vehicle has complied with the safety inspection
requirements of Chapter 548.
(b) The department may refuse to register a motor vehicle
and may cancel, suspend, or revoke a registration if the department
determines that a motor vehicle is unsafe, improperly equipped, or
otherwise unfit to be operated on a public highway.
SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 502.360 to read as follows:
Sec. 502.360. DELINQUENT REGISTRATION FEE. The board by
rule shall establish a delinquent registration fee schedule for
applicants for registration who are delinquent under Section
502.045 without good reason under that section and register a
vehicle later than the fifth day after the expiration date of the
vehicle's registration period. The fee schedule established under
this section must include an increase in the delinquent
registration fee on the first day of each month after the month
during which a registration becomes delinquent. The board may
determine the amount of the increase.
SECTION 4. Section 548.101, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 548.101. GENERAL ONE-YEAR INSPECTION PERIOD. Except
as provided by Section 548.102, the department shall require an
annual inspection. The department shall set the periods of
inspection and may make rules with respect to those periods. The
department shall adopt rules that require the new inspection period
of a vehicle that is inspected after the expiration date of the
vehicle's inspection period to end as if the vehicle was inspected
before the expiration date.
SECTION 5. Section 548.501, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The department shall adopt rules that increase the fee
for inspection of a vehicle that is inspected later than the fifth
day after the expiration date of the vehicle's inspection period.
The rules adopted under this subsection must include an increase on
the first day of each month after the month in which the expiration
date occurred.
SECTION 6. Section 548.505, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The department shall adopt rules that increase the fee
for inspection of a vehicle that is inspected under Section
548.301(a) later than the fifth day after the expiration date of the
vehicle's inspection period. The rules adopted under this
subsection must include an increase on the first day of each month
after the month in which the expiration date occurred.
SECTION 7. Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles shall adopt the rules required by:
(1) Section 502.045(e), Transportation Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 502.360, Transportation Code, as
added by this Act; and
(2) Section 548.101, Transportation Code, as amended
by this Act, and Sections 548.501(c) and 548.505(c), Transportation
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.