By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1171 73R6121 JD-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the issuance of special license plates to justices of 1-3 the peace and municipal court judges. 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 5m to 1-8 read as follows: 1-9 Sec. 5m. (a) The department shall design and provide for 1-10 the issuance of special license plates for passenger cars and light 1-11 commercial motor vehicles that have a manufacturer's rated carrying 1-12 capacity of one ton or less and that are owned by persons who are 1-13 justices of the peace or judges of municipal courts of this state. 1-14 (b) License plates issued to justices of the peace and 1-15 judges of municipal courts under this section shall bear the words 1-16 "Texas Magistrate." 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 the person's residence on a form prescribed by the department; 1-21 (2) pays the fee prescribed by Subsection (d) of this 1-22 section; and 1-23 (3) submits with the application proof that the person 1-24 is a justice of the peace or judge of a municipal court of this 2-1 state. 2-2 (d) The fee for issuance of special license plates under 2-3 this section is $10. 2-4 (e) Registration under this section is valid for one year 2-5 and expires in the same manner as do regular motor vehicle 2-6 registrations, except as provided by Subsection (f) of this 2-7 section. 2-8 (f) Registration under this section expires when the owner 2-9 of the vehicle for which the special plates were issued ceases to 2-10 be a justice of the peace or judge of a municipal court. The 2-11 justice or judge is not required to return the special license 2-12 plates to the department. 2-13 (g) A vehicle for which special license plates are issued 2-14 under this section is not exempt from the motor vehicle 2-15 registration fee imposed by Section 5 of this Act or any additional 2-16 county fee imposed under Section 9a of this Act. 2-17 (h) The county tax collector shall retain $2 of each fee 2-18 collected under this section and deposit the amount retained in the 2-19 general fund of the county. The county tax collector shall remit 2-20 the remainder of each fee to the department at the times and in the 2-21 manner provided by Section 10 of this Act. 2-22 (i) The department shall deposit in the state treasury to 2-23 the credit of the state highway fund amounts remitted to the 2-24 department under Subsection (h) of this section. 2-25 (j) A person may be issued only one set of special license 2-26 plates under this section. If the owner of a vehicle for which 2-27 plates are issued under this section disposes of the vehicle during 3-1 a registration year, the person shall return the special plates to 3-2 the department, and at that time may apply for issuance of those 3-3 plates to another vehicle. 3-4 (k) If license plates issued under this section are lost, 3-5 stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the plates 3-6 were issued may obtain replacement plates from the department by 3-7 paying a replacement fee of $5 in addition to the fee required by 3-8 Section 13a of this Act. 3-9 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 3-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.