| 1 | 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 672 |
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| 2 | 2 | | WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the |
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| 3 | 3 | | first license plate issued by the State of Texas; and |
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| 4 | 4 | | WHEREAS, Introduced in 1917, state-issued license plates |
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| 5 | 5 | | were originally made of sheet iron and featured embossed numbers |
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| 6 | 6 | | painted white on a dark blue background, with the abbreviation |
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| 7 | 7 | | "TEX" on the right-hand side; before that time, Texans were |
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| 8 | 8 | | responsible for obtaining their own license plates, which could |
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| 9 | 9 | | be either homemade or purchased from such places as saddle and |
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| 10 | 10 | | blacksmith shops; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, The state prison system began manufacturing |
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| 12 | 12 | | license plates in 1935, and the Texas Department of Criminal |
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| 13 | 13 | | Justice estimates that by 2016, inmates had created some 650 |
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| 14 | 14 | | million plates; in 1965, the Texas Highway Department, now |
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| 15 | 15 | | known as the Texas Department of Transportation, started |
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| 16 | 16 | | offering personalized vanity plates to the public for an |
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| 17 | 17 | | additional fee; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, As technology advanced through the decades, so |
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| 19 | 19 | | did the manufacture of Texas license plates; the Texas Department |
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| 20 | 20 | | of Transportation began producing digitally printed, |
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| 21 | 21 | | vinyl-covered aluminum plates in 2009, and three years later, the |
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| 22 | 22 | | Texas Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled the current |
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| 23 | 23 | | general-issue plate, which utilizes black type on a white |
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| 24 | 24 | | background and holographic security features; the Texas |
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| 25 | 25 | | Department of Motor Vehicles now offers 420 plate designs in |
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| 26 | 26 | | addition to the general scheme, including many that honor |
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| 27 | 27 | | military veterans; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Over the past century, as the automobile industry |
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| 29 | 29 | | has evolved to become a vital sector of the United States economy |
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| 30 | 30 | | and a dominant influence on both American society and the |
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| 31 | 31 | | national landscape, vehicle license plates have become a |
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| 32 | 32 | | ubiquitous, critical element of American life; their sale |
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| 33 | 33 | | generates revenue for a variety of state programs, and their role |
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| 34 | 34 | | as identifying markers provides essential aid to law enforcement |
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| 35 | 35 | | officers in the performance of their work; incidental to their |
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| 36 | 36 | | primary function, the plates now have a hold on the popular |
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| 37 | 37 | | consciousness and have become collector's items, a means of |
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| 38 | 38 | | personal expression, and even decorative features, notably in |
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| 39 | 39 | | countless roadside diners; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | WHEREAS, A humble, unobtrusive object, the license plate |
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| 41 | 41 | | serves a number of purposes, from the essential to the whimsical, |
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| 42 | 42 | | and it is indeed fitting that this milestone anniversary be |
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| 43 | 43 | | recognized; now, therefore, be it |
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| 44 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th |
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| 45 | 45 | | Legislature, hereby commemorate the centennial of the first |
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| 46 | 46 | | state-issued license plate in the Lone Star State. |
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| 47 | 47 | | Nichols |
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| 48 | 48 | | ________________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | President of the Senate |
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| 50 | 50 | | I hereby certify that the |
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| 51 | 51 | | above Resolution was adopted by |
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| 52 | 52 | | the Senate on April 25, 2017. |
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| 53 | 53 | | ________________________________ |
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| 54 | 54 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 55 | 55 | | ________________________________ |
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| 56 | 56 | | Member, Texas Senate |
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