| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to wrong, fictitious, altered, or obscured license plates; |
|
|
increasing a criminal penalty. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 504.945, Transportation Code, is amended |
|
|
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A person commits an offense if the person attaches to or |
|
|
displays on a motor vehicle a license plate that: |
|
|
(1) is issued for a different motor vehicle; |
|
|
(2) is issued for the vehicle under any other motor |
|
|
vehicle law other than by the department; |
|
|
(3) is assigned for a registration period other than |
|
|
the registration period in effect; |
|
|
(4) is fictitious; |
|
|
(5) has blurring or reflective matter that |
|
|
significantly impairs the readability of the name of the state in |
|
|
which the vehicle is registered or the letters or numbers of the |
|
|
license plate number at any time; |
|
|
(6) has an attached illuminated device or sticker, |
|
|
decal, emblem, or other insignia that is not authorized by law and |
|
|
that interferes with the readability of the letters or numbers of |
|
|
the license plate number or the name of the state in which the |
|
|
vehicle is registered; or |
|
|
(7) has a coating, covering, protective substance, or |
|
|
other material that: |
|
|
(A) distorts angular visibility or |
|
|
detectability; |
|
|
(B) alters or obscures one-half or more of the |
|
|
name of the state in which the vehicle is registered; or |
|
|
(C) alters, covers, or obscures the letters or |
|
|
numbers of the license plate number or the color of the plate. |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and |
|
|
(f), an offense under Subsection (a) is a misdemeanor punishable by |
|
|
a fine of not more than $200, unless it is shown at the trial of the |
|
|
offense that the owner knowingly altered or made illegible the |
|
|
letters, numbers, and other identification marks, in which case the |
|
|
offense is a Class B misdemeanor. |
|
|
(f) An offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C) is a misdemeanor |
|
|
punishable by a fine of not more than $300, except that the offense |
|
|
is: |
|
|
(1) a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than |
|
|
$600 if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has |
|
|
been previously convicted of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C); |
|
|
or |
|
|
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial |
|
|
of the offense that the person has been previously convicted two or |
|
|
more times of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C). |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 548.051(a), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or |
|
|
mobile home, registered in this state, must have the following |
|
|
items inspected at an inspection station or by an inspector: |
|
|
(1) tires; |
|
|
(2) wheel assembly; |
|
|
(3) safety guards or flaps, if required by Section |
|
|
547.606; |
|
|
(4) brake system, including power brake unit; |
|
|
(5) steering system, including power steering; |
|
|
(6) lighting equipment; |
|
|
(7) horns and warning devices; |
|
|
(8) mirrors; |
|
|
(9) windshield wipers; |
|
|
(10) sunscreening devices, unless the vehicle is |
|
|
exempt from sunscreen device restrictions under Section 547.613; |
|
|
(11) front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt |
|
|
anchorages were part of the manufacturer's original equipment; |
|
|
(12) exhaust system; |
|
|
(13) exhaust emission system; |
|
|
(14) fuel tank cap, using pressurized testing |
|
|
equipment approved by department rule; [and] |
|
|
(15) emissions control equipment as designated by |
|
|
department rule; and |
|
|
(16) for purposes of Section 548.104(d)(3), each |
|
|
license plate required to be displayed on the vehicle. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 548.104(d), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) An inspection station or inspector may not issue a |
|
|
passing vehicle inspection report for a vehicle equipped with: |
|
|
(1) a sunscreening device prohibited by Section |
|
|
547.613, except that the department by rule shall provide |
|
|
procedures for issuance of a passing vehicle inspection report for |
|
|
a vehicle exempt under Section 547.613(c); [or] |
|
|
(2) a compressed natural gas container unless the |
|
|
owner demonstrates in accordance with department rules proof: |
|
|
(A) that: |
|
|
(i) the container has met the inspection |
|
|
requirements under 49 C.F.R. Section 571.304; and |
|
|
(ii) the manufacturer's recommended service |
|
|
life for the container, as stated on the container label required by |
|
|
49 C.F.R. Section 571.304, has not expired; or |
|
|
(B) that the vehicle is a fleet vehicle for which |
|
|
the fleet operator employs a technician certified to inspect the |
|
|
container; or |
|
|
(3) a license plate prohibited by Section 504.945. |
|
|
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
|
|
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was |
|
|
committed before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |