85R12453 AAF-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1685
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to specialty license plates or stickers for motor vehicles
of persons with intellectual disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 502.061 to read as follows:
Sec. 502.061. REGISTRATION BY OWNER WITH INTELLECTUAL
DISABILITY. (a) If the department elects to design and issue a
sticker under Section 504.205(c) indicating that a person operating
a motor vehicle may be a person with an intellectual disability, the
department shall adopt rules allowing an applicant for registration
or renewal of registration to apply for the sticker.
(b) Rules adopted by the department under this section must
provide for:
(1) the expiration of the sticker at the end of the
registration period specified in the registration application;
(2) the location on the motor vehicle where the
sticker must be placed; and
(3) a fee for issuance of the sticker in an amount to
cover the department's costs for issuance.
(c) An application for registration or renewal of
registration must provide space for the applicant to submit the
written statement from a physician as required by Section 504.205.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 504, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 504.205 to read as follows:
Sec. 504.205. PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. (a) In
this section, "intellectual disability" has the meaning assigned by
Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), the department, in
consultation with the Department of Public Safety, shall design and
issue specialty license plates for a motor vehicle that is
regularly operated by a person with an intellectual disability. A
license plate issued under this section must include an emblem
indicating that the person operating the vehicle may be a person
with an intellectual disability.
(c) In lieu of designing and issuing specialty license
plates under Subsection (b), the department, in consultation with
the Department of Public Safety, may design a sticker for a motor
vehicle that is regularly operated by a person with an intellectual
disability and issue the sticker at the time the person registers or
renews the registration of the person's vehicle as provided by
Section 502.061.
(d) The initial application for specialty license plates
under this section must be accompanied by a written statement from a
physician who is licensed to practice medicine in this state or in a
state adjacent to this state. The statement must certify that the
person making the application has an intellectual disability.
(e) The fee for issuance of license plates under this
section may not exceed the administrative costs incurred by the
department in issuing the license plates.
SECTION 3. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(n) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the
commission shall establish a statewide comprehensive education and
training program on procedures for interacting with drivers with an
intellectual disability, as defined by Section 591.003, Health and
Safety Code, including identifying specialty license plates or
stickers issued to individuals with an intellectual disability
under Section 504.205 or 502.061, Transportation Code. An officer
shall complete a program established under this subsection not
later than the second anniversary of the date the officer is
licensed under this chapter or the date the officer applies for an
intermediate proficiency certificate, whichever date is earlier.
SECTION 4. Not later than March 1, 2018, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall establish the training program
as required by Section 1701.253(n), Occupations Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.