By: Zaffirini, Lucio S.B. No. 1116
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the issuance of specially designed nature license
1-2 plates and establishing the Texas Environmental Education Advisory
1-3 Committee account in the state treasury.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
1-6 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-1 et seq.,
1-7 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 5p to
1-8 read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 5p. (a) The department shall design and provide for
1-10 the issuance of special Texas nature plates for passenger cars and
1-11 light commercial motor vehicles having a manufacturer's rated
1-12 carrying capacity of one ton or less.
1-13 (b) The license plates shall bear a name and be of a color,
1-14 quality, and design depicting a Texas nature scene approved by the
1-15 Central Education Agency's Texas Environmental Education Advisory
1-16 Committee established by Section 11.53(b), Education Code.
1-17 (c) The department shall issue license plates under this
1-18 section to a person who:
1-19 (1) applies to the county tax collector in the county
1-20 of a person's residence on a form provided by the department; and
1-21 (2) pays the fee prescribed by the department under
1-22 this Act.
1-23 (d) A person applying for license plates under this section
2-1 may:
2-2 (1) have a license plate number assigned by the
2-3 department; or
2-4 (2) apply for personalized prestige license plates
2-5 under Section 5c of this Act.
2-6 (e) There is no limit to the number of passenger cars and
2-7 light commercial motor vehicles for which a person may apply for
2-8 the issuance of license plates under this section.
2-9 SECTION 2. Section 11.53, Education Code, is amended by
2-10 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
2-11 (c) All funds received under Subsection (a)(5) of this
2-12 section and fees collected under Section 5p, Chapter 88, General
2-13 Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929
2-14 (Article 6675a-5p, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
2-15 administrative fees collected under Section 6 1/2(c)(2), Chapter
2-16 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
2-17 1929 (Article 6675a-6 1/2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), shall be
2-18 deposited in the state treasury to the credit of a special account
2-19 to be called the Texas Environmental Education Advisory Committee
2-20 account. Money deposited to the credit of the account may be used
2-21 only for the following purposes:
2-22 (1) to develop new instructional materials on
2-23 environmental education, especially those relating to ecological
2-24 systems and the ways human beings depend on and interact with
2-25 ecological systems in Texas;
3-1 (2) to support staff development for environmental
3-2 education through inservice programs, summer seminars, and
3-3 institutes;
3-4 (3) to fund the position of environmental education
3-5 coordinator in the Central Education Agency to coordinate
3-6 environmental education in the state;
3-7 (4) to establish teacher training centers for
3-8 environmental education across the state;
3-9 (5) to provide a system for communicating current
3-10 information about environmental education curriculum materials,
3-11 validated projects, and other successful programs to teachers,
3-12 administrators, and the public;
3-13 (6) to establish procedures for coordinating
3-14 environmental education programs among state agencies; and
3-15 (7) to support the advisory committee on environmental
3-16 education established by Subsection (b) of this section.
3-17 SECTION 3. Subsection (c), Section 6 1/2, Chapter 88,
3-18 General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
3-19 1929 (Article 6675a-6 1/2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
3-20 amended to read as follows:
3-21 (c) Truck tractors or commercial motor vehicles with
3-22 manufacturers' rated carrying capacities in excess of one (1) ton
3-23 used exclusively in combination with semitrailer-type vehicles
3-24 displaying Five Dollar ($5.00) distinguishing license plates for
3-25 which such semitrailer-type vehicles are eligible under the
4-1 provisions of this Act shall not be required to register in
4-2 combination; provided, however, that such truck tractors or
4-3 commercial motor vehicles continue to be registered as provided in
4-4 Section 6 of this Act; and provided further, that:
4-5 (1) the provisions of this section shall not apply to:
4-6 (A) <(1)> vehicles registered or to be
4-7 registered with United States Government license plates or exempt
4-8 license plates issued by the State of Texas;
4-9 (B) <(2)> truck tractors or commercial motor
4-10 vehicles registered or to be registered with Five Dollar ($5.00)
4-11 distinguishing license plates for which such vehicles are eligible
4-12 under the applicable registration statutes of this State;
4-13 (C) <(3)> truck tractors or commercial motor
4-14 vehicles used exclusively in combination with semitrailers of the
4-15 housetrailer type; provided, however, that such truck tractors or
4-16 commercial motor vehicles shall continue to be registered as
4-17 provided in Section 6 of this Act; and, provided further that
4-18 semitrailers of the housetrailer type shall continue to be
4-19 registered as provided in Section 8 of this Act;
4-20 (D) <(4)> vehicles registered or to be
4-21 registered with temporary registration permits for which such
4-22 vehicles are eligible under the applicable registration statutes of
4-23 this State;
4-24 (E) <(5)> truck tractors or commercial motor
4-25 vehicles registered or to be registered with Farm Truck or Farm
5-1 Truck Tractor License Plates; provided, however, that such farm
5-2 trucks or farm truck tractors shall continue to be registered as
5-3 provided in Section 6a of this Act; or
5-4 (F) <(6)> truck tractors or commercial motor
5-5 vehicles and semitrailers registered or to be registered with Soil
5-6 Conservation License Plates; provided, however, that such truck
5-7 tractors or commercial motor vehicles and semitrailers shall
5-8 continue to be registered as provided in Subsection (h)(1), Section
5-9 2 of this Act, based on the registration fees for truck tractors or
5-10 commercial motor vehicles as prescribed in Section 6 of this Act,
5-11 and the registration fees for trailers or semitrailers as
5-12 prescribed in Section 8 of this Act; and
5-13 (2) truck tractors or commercial motor vehicles
5-14 registered or to be registered with Forestry License Plates shall
5-15 be registered based on the registration fees for such vehicles as
5-16 prescribed in Subsection (a) of this section; provided, however,
5-17 that such vehicles are used to transport products of the forest in
5-18 their natural state, including but not limited to logs, debarked
5-19 logs, untreated ties, stave bolts, plywood bolts, pulpwood billets,
5-20 wood chips, stumps, sawdust, moss, bark and wood shavings, and
5-21 property used in the production thereof. In addition to the
5-22 registration fees prescribed in Subsection (a) of this section, an
5-23 administrative fee of 50 cents for the license plates shall be
5-24 collected and such fee shall be deposited in the state treasury to
5-25 the credit of the Texas Environmental Education Advisory Committee
6-1 account as provided in Section 11.53, Education Code.
6-2 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
6-3 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
6-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.