By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1171
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the issuance of special license plates to justices of
1-2 the peace and municipal court judges.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
1-5 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-1 et seq.,
1-6 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 5m to
1-7 read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 5m. (a) The department shall design and provide for
1-9 the issuance of special license plates for passenger cars and light
1-10 commercial motor vehicles that have a manufacturer's rated carrying
1-11 capacity of one ton or less and that are owned by persons who are
1-12 justices of the peace or judges of municipal courts of this state.
1-13 (b) License plates issued to justices of the peace and
1-14 judges of municipal courts under this section shall bear the words
1-15 "Texas Magistrate."
1-16 (c) The department shall issue license plates under this
1-17 section to a person who:
1-18 (1) applies to the county tax collector in the county
1-19 of the person's residence on a form prescribed by the department;
1-20 (2) pays the fee prescribed by Subsection (d) of this
1-21 section; and
1-22 (3) submits with the application proof that the person
1-23 is a justice of the peace or judge of a municipal court of this
1-24 state.
2-1 (d) The fee for issuance of special license plates under
2-2 this section is $25.
2-3 (e) Registration under this section is valid for one year
2-4 and expires in the same manner as do regular motor vehicle
2-5 registrations, except as provided by Subsection (f) of this
2-6 section.
2-7 (f) Registration under this section expires when the owner
2-8 of the vehicle for which the special plates were issued ceases to
2-9 be a justice of the peace or judge of a municipal court. The
2-10 justice or judge is not required to return the special license
2-11 plates to the department.
2-12 (g) A vehicle for which special license plates are issued
2-13 under this section is not exempt from the motor vehicle
2-14 registration fee imposed by Section 5 of this Act or any additional
2-15 county fee imposed under Section 9a of this Act.
2-16 (h) The county tax collector shall retain $2 of each fee
2-17 collected under this section and deposit the amount retained in the
2-18 general fund of the county. The county tax collector shall remit
2-19 the remainder of each fee to the department at the times and in the
2-20 manner provided by Section 10 of this Act.
2-21 (i) The department shall deposit in the state treasury to
2-22 the credit of the state highway fund amounts remitted to the
2-23 department under Subsection (h) of this section.
2-24 (j) A person may be issued only one set of special license
2-25 plates under this section. If the owner of a vehicle for which
2-26 plates are issued under this section disposes of the vehicle during
2-27 a registration year, the person shall return the special plates to
3-1 the department, and at that time may apply for issuance of those
3-2 plates to another vehicle.
3-3 (k) If license plates issued under this section are lost,
3-4 stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the plates
3-5 were issued may obtain replacement plates from the department by
3-6 paying a replacement fee of $5 in addition to the fee required by
3-7 Section 13a of this Act.
3-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-9 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.