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House Bill 2357 |
House Author: Pickett |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Williams |
House Bill 2357 amends the Transportation Code to update and reorganize Chapters 501, 502, 504, and 520, relating to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and certificates of title, vehicle registration, license plates, and miscellaneous provisions, respectively. The bill transfers, renumbers, amends, and repeals provisions in those chapters and other chapters of the Transportation Code. The bill includes numerous technical and conforming changes. Among other provisions, House Bill 2357:
· provides for the titling and registration of a vehicle if the county in which the vehicle owner resides has been declared a disaster area by the governor;
· authorizes TxDMV to require an applicant for a title or vehicle registration to provide current personal identification as determined by TxDMV rule and prohibits TxDMV from printing any required identification number on the title;
· authorizes the board of TxDMV to implement an electronic titling system and provides for the payment of fees for vehicle titling or registration by electronic means;
· amends the general rule requiring registration of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to require a vehicle owner to register a vehicle not more than 30 days after purchasing the vehicle or becoming a resident of Texas;
· requires TxDMV to deny registration of a commercial motor vehicle, truck-tractor, trailer, or semitrailer under certain conditions relating to the status of the applicant;
· removes a provision that conditioned the authority of a person eligible for specialty license plates for a classic motor vehicle or travel trailer to instead use certain state-issued license plates on whether the plates were approved for the vehicle before January 1, 2011;
· authorizes, rather than requires, TxDMV to enter into a contract with a private vendor for the marketing and sale of certain specialty license plates;
· authorizes a county tax assessor-collector to license franchised and non-franchised motor vehicle dealers to title and register motor vehicles in accordance with rules adopted by TxDMV; and
· requires TxDMV to conduct a study in consultation with the Department of Public Safety on the consolidation of similar information that is collected separately by each agency.
The bill also amends the Health and Safety Code and the Occupations Code to make conforming changes and amends the Occupations Code to authorize TxDMV to impose an administrative penalty on a salvage vehicle dealer who violates the law governing such dealers. The bill takes effect January 1, 2012, except for provisions relating to an administrative penalty against a salvage vehicle dealer and to specialty license plates for classic motor vehicles and travel trailers, which take effect September 1, 2011. Provisions relating to the marketing of specialty license plates through a contract with a private vendor are effective September 1, 2014.