Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1425 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11568 DRH-F
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1425
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 1(2), Article 4413(37), Revised
10	10	Statutes, as amended by Chapters 308 (H.B. 1887) and 927 (H.B.
11	11	3225), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is
12	12	reenacted and amended to read as follows:
13	13	(2) "Economic motor vehicle theft" means motor vehicle
14	14	[burglary or] theft committed for financial gain.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 1(4), Article 4413(37), Revised
16	16	Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
17	17	(4) "Director" means the executive director of the
18	18	Texas Department of Motor Vehicles [Texas Department of
19	19	Transportation].
20	20	SECTION 3. Sections 5(b), (c), and (d), Article 4413(37),
21	21	Revised Statutes, are amended to read as follows:
22	22	(b) The authority shall meet at the call of the presiding
23	23	officer [chairman] or at the call of four members.
24	24	(c) To be eligible to take office as a member of the
25	25	authority, a person appointed to the authority must complete [at
26	26	least one course of] a training program that complies with
27	27	Subsection (d).
28	28	(d) The training program required by Subsection (c) must
29	29	provide information to the person regarding:
30	30	(1) the enabling legislation that created the
31	31	authority [and its policymaking body to which the member is
32	32	appointed to serve];
33	33	(2) the programs operated by the authority;
34	34	(3) the role and functions of the authority;
35	35	(4) the rules of the authority and the department;
36	36	(5) the current budget for the authority;
37	37	(6) the results of the most recent formal program
38	38	audit of the authority;
39	39	(7) the requirements of the:
40	40	(A) open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government
41	41	Code;
42	42	(B) open records law, Chapter 552, Government
43	43	Code; and
44	44	(C) administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001,
45	45	Government Code;
46	46	(8) the requirements of the conflict-of-interest laws
47	47	and other laws relating to public officials; and
48	48	(9) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
49	49	department or the Texas Ethics Commission.
50	50	SECTION 4. Sections 6(b), (d), (j), and (k), Article
51	51	4413(37), Revised Statutes, are amended to read as follows:
52	52	(b) The authority may solicit and the department may accept
53	53	gifts and grants to carry out a purpose or function of the
54	54	authority.
55	55	(d) Not later than April 1 of each year, the authority shall
56	56	report on its activities to the lieutenant governor and the speaker
57	57	of the house of representatives. The report must include:
58	58	(1) an accounting of all funds received and disbursed
59	59	by the authority during the previous fiscal year; and
60	60	(2) the motor vehicle theft rate for the previous
61	61	fiscal year as determined by authority rule.
62	62	(j) The authority shall:
63	63	(1) develop and use standard performance measures for
64	64	each category of grants provided by the authority in order to assess
65	65	grantee success in achieving the purposes of this article; and
66	66	(2) ensure that grants are used to help reduce the
67	67	incidence of [increase:
68	68	[(A) the recovery rate of stolen motor vehicles;
69	69	[(B) the clearance rate of motor vehicle
70	70	burglaries and thefts; and
71	71	[(C) the number of persons arrested for] motor
72	72	vehicle [burglary and] theft and burglary.
73	73	(k) The authority shall allocate grant funds primarily
74	74	based on where the number of motor vehicle thefts or burglaries
75	75	[vehicles stolen in,] or the motor vehicle [burglary or] theft or
76	76	burglary rate is highest in [across,] the state [rather than based
77	77	on geographic distribution].
78	78	SECTION 5. Section 6A, Article 4413(37), Revised Statutes,
79	79	is amended to read as follows:
80	80	Sec. 6A. REFUNDS [POWER TO REFUND]. (a) An insurer may
81	81	request a refund of fees or a determination of the sufficiency of
82	82	payments of fees collected under Section 10 of this article not
83	83	later than the second anniversary of the date the fees were paid.
84	84	(b) The authority may make determinations regarding the
85	85	sufficiency of payments made by an ["]insurer[" (as defined under
86	86	Section 10 of this article)] of fees collected pursuant to Section
87	87	10 of this article.
88	88	(c) [(b)] Pursuant to such determination, the authority
89	89	may:
90	90	(1) notify the comptroller that payments made by an
91	91	insurer are sufficient; and
92	92	(2) request the comptroller to draw warrants on the
93	93	funds available to the authority for the purpose of refunding
94	94	monies to an insurer.
95	95	(d) [(c)] The authority shall make the determination under
96	96	Subsection (c) [(b)] of this section [as follows:
97	97	[(1) the two members of the authority who are
98	98	representatives of insurance companies writing motor vehicle
99	99	insurance in this state shall recuse themselves;
100	100	[(2) the remaining five members of the authority shall
101	101	make the determination] by a simple majority vote.
102	102	(e) [(d)] Determinations made under this section shall be
103	103	performed in accordance with procedures set forth in rules adopted
104	104	by the authority. The question of eligibility for a refund is not a
105	105	contested case within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure
106	106	Act (Chapter 2001, Government Code).
107	107	SECTION 6. Section 7(a), Article 4413(37), Revised
108	108	Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
109	109	(a) The authority shall develop and implement a plan of
110	110	operation. The plan of operation must be updated biennially and
111	111	filed with the speaker of the house of representatives and the
112	112	lieutenant governor [legislature] on or before December 1 of each
113	113	even-numbered year.
114	114	SECTION 7. Section 7(b), Article 4413(37), Revised
115	115	Statutes, as amended by Chapters 308 (H.B. 1887) and 927 (H.B.
116	116	3225), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is
117	117	reenacted and amended to read as follows:
118	118	(b) The plan of operation must include:
119	119	(1) an assessment of the scope of the problems of motor
120	120	vehicle [burglary or] theft and economic motor vehicle theft,
121	121	including particular areas of the state where the problems are
122	122	greatest;
123	123	(2) an analysis of various methods of combating the
124	124	problems of motor vehicle [burglary or] theft and economic motor
125	125	vehicle theft;
126	126	(3) a plan for providing financial support to combat
127	127	motor vehicle [burglary or] theft and economic motor vehicle theft;
128	128	and
129	129	(4) an estimate of the funds required to implement the
130	130	plan of operation.
131	131	SECTION 8. Section 8(a), Article 4413(37), Revised
132	132	Statutes, as amended by Chapters 308 (H.B. 1887) and 927 (H.B.
133	133	3225), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is
134	134	reenacted and amended to read as follows:
135	135	(a) Money appropriated to the department for authority
136	136	purposes shall be used [by the authority] to pay the department for
137	137	administrative costs and to achieve the purposes of this article,
138	138	including:
139	139	(1) [establishing and funding the motor vehicle
140	140	registration program required by Section 9 of this article;
141	141	[(2)] providing financial support to law enforcement
142	142	agencies for economic motor vehicle theft enforcement teams;
143	143	(2) [(3)] providing financial support to law
144	144	enforcement agencies, local prosecutors, local governmental
145	145	entities, judicial agencies, and neighborhood, community,
146	146	business, and nonprofit organizations for programs designed to
147	147	reduce the incidence of economic motor vehicle theft;
148	148	(3) [(4)] conducting educational programs designed to
149	149	inform motor vehicle owners of methods of preventing motor vehicle
150	150	[burglary or] theft;
151	151	(4) [(5)] providing equipment, for experimental
152	152	purposes, to assist motor vehicle owners in preventing motor
153	153	vehicle [burglary or] theft; and
154	154	(5) [(6)] establishing a uniform program to prevent
155	155	stolen motor vehicles from entering Mexico.
156	156	SECTION 9. Sections 8(b) and (c), Article 4413(37), Revised
157	157	Statutes, are amended to read as follows:
158	158	(b) In any fiscal year, the [amount of the administrative
159	159	expenses of the authority, including salaries, travel and marketing
160	160	expenses, and other overhead expenses may not exceed eight percent
161	161	of the total expenditures of the authority.
162	162	[(c) The] cost of personnel, [and] services, and
163	163	administrative expenses of the authority, including salaries,
164	164	travel, and marketing and other overhead expenses incurred by the
165	165	authority or provided to the authority by the department and by the
166	166	attorney general may be paid only from appropriations made for
167	167	authority purposes and may not exceed eight percent of those
168	168	appropriations. Appropriations made for authority purposes may not
169	169	be used for any other purpose.
170	170	SECTION 10. Sections 10(b), (d), and (e), Article 4413(37),
171	171	Revised Statutes, are amended to read as follows:
172	172	(b) An insurer shall pay [to the authority] a fee equal to $2
173	173	multiplied by the total number of motor vehicle years of insurance
174	174	for insurance policies delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed
175	175	by the insurer. The fee shall be paid not later than:
176	176	(1) March 1 of each year for a policy issued,
177	177	delivered, or renewed from July 1 through December 31 of the
178	178	previous calendar year; and
179	179	(2) August 1 of each year for a policy issued,
180	180	delivered, or renewed from January 1 through June 30 of that year.
181	181	(d) The authority shall notify the Texas Department [State
182	182	Board] of Insurance of any insurer that fails to pay the fee
183	183	required by this section, and the Texas Department of Insurance
184	184	[board] may for that reason revoke the insurer's certificate of
185	185	authority.
186	186	(e) Fifty percent of each fee collected under Subsection (b)
187	187	may be appropriated only for use by [to] the authority for the
188	188	purposes of this article.
189	189	SECTION 11. The following Sections of Article 4413(37),
190	190	Revised Statutes, are repealed:
191	191	(1) Sections 6(i) and 9; and
192	192	(2) Section 11, as amended by Chapters 308 (H.B. 1887)
193	193	and 927 (H.B. 3225), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session,
194	194	2007.
195	195	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.