Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5094 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R6812 DIO-F
2	2	By: Bell of Montgomery H.B. No. 5094
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the administration of the financial responsibility
8	8	verification program.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 502.357(b), (c), and (d),
11	11	Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b) Fees collected under this section shall be deposited to
13	13	the credit of the state highway fund except that the comptroller
14	14	shall provide for a portion of the fees to be deposited first to the
15	15	credit of a special fund in the state treasury outside the general
16	16	revenue fund to be known as the TexasSure Fund in a total amount
17	17	that is necessary to cover the total amount appropriated to the
18	18	office of the attorney general [Texas Department of Insurance] from
19	19	that fund and for the remaining fees to be deposited to the state
20	20	highway fund. Subject to appropriations, the money deposited to
21	21	the credit of the state highway fund under this section may be used
22	22	by the Department of Public Safety to:
23	23	(1) support the Department of Public Safety's
24	24	reengineering of the driver's license system to provide for the
25	25	issuance by the Department of Public Safety of a driver's license or
26	26	personal identification certificate, to include use of image
27	27	comparison technology; and
28	28	(2) make lease payments to the master lease purchase
29	29	program for the financing of the driver's license reengineering
30	30	project.
31	31	(c) Subject to appropriation, fees collected under this
32	32	section may be used by the Department of Public Safety, the office
33	33	of the attorney general [Texas Department of Insurance], the
34	34	Department of Information Resources, and the department to carry
35	35	out Subchapter N, Chapter 601.
36	36	(d) The Department of Public Safety, the office of the
37	37	attorney general [Texas Department of Insurance], the Department of
38	38	Information Resources, and the department shall jointly adopt rules
39	39	and develop forms necessary to administer this section.
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 601.451, Transportation Code, is amended
41	41	to read as follows:
42	42	Sec. 601.451. DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
43	43	"implementing agencies" means:
44	44	(1) the department;
45	45	(2) the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles;
46	46	(3) the Texas Department of Insurance; [and]
47	47	(4) the Department of Information Resources; and
48	48	(5) the office of the attorney general.
49	49	SECTION 3. Section 601.452(a), Transportation Code, is
50	50	amended to read as follows:
51	51	(a) The office of the attorney general [Texas Department of
52	52	Insurance] in consultation with the other implementing agencies
53	53	shall establish a program for verification of whether owners of
54	54	motor vehicles have established financial responsibility. The
55	55	program established must be:
56	56	(1) the program most likely to:
57	57	(A) reduce the number of uninsured motorists in
58	58	this state;
59	59	(B) operate reliably;
60	60	(C) be cost-effective;
61	61	(D) sufficiently protect the privacy of the motor
62	62	vehicle owners;
63	63	(E) sufficiently safeguard the security and
64	64	integrity of information provided by insurance companies;
65	65	(F) identify and employ a method of compliance
66	66	that improves public convenience; and
67	67	(G) provide information that is accurate and
68	68	current; and
69	69	(2) capable of being audited by an independent
70	70	auditor.
71	71	SECTION 4. Section 601.453(a), Transportation Code, is
72	72	amended to read as follows:
73	73	(a) The office of the attorney general [Texas Department of
74	74	Insurance] in consultation with the other implementing agencies,
75	75	under a competitive bidding procedure, shall select an agent to
76	76	develop, implement, operate, and maintain the program.
77	77	SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2024, the following are
78	78	transferred from the Texas Department of Insurance to the office of
79	79	the attorney general:
80	80	(1) the powers, duties, functions, and activities of
81	81	the Texas Department of Insurance relating to the establishment and
82	82	operation of the financial responsibility verification program
83	83	under Subchapter N, Chapter 601, Transportation Code;
84	84	(2) any obligations and contracts of the Texas
85	85	Department of Insurance that are directly related to implementing a
86	86	power, duty, function, or activity transferred under this section;
87	87	and
88	88	(3) all property and records in the custody of the
89	89	Texas Department of Insurance that are related to a power, duty,
90	90	function, or activity transferred under this section and all funds
91	91	appropriated by the legislature for that power, duty, function, or
92	92	activity.
93	93	SECTION 6. Not later than the 60th day after the effective
94	94	date of this Act, the Texas Department of Insurance and the office
95	95	of the attorney general shall enter into a memorandum of
96	96	understanding that establishes a plan for the identification and
97	97	transfer of the records, property, and unspent appropriations of
98	98	the Texas Department of Insurance that are used for purposes of the
99	99	department's powers and duties directly related to the
100	100	establishment and operation of the financial responsibility
101	101	verification program under Subchapter N, Chapter 601,
102	102	Transportation Code.
103	103	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.