By: Haley S.B. No. 1479
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the inspection of certain vehicles.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subsection 140(a) and (h), Uniform Act Regulating
1-4 Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
1-5 are amended to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 140. (a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer,
1-7 pole trailer, or mobile home, registered in this state and operated
1-8 on the highways of this state, shall have the tires, brake system
1-9 (including power brake unit), lighting equipment, horns and warning
1-10 devices, mirrors, windshield and windshield wipers, if a windshield
1-11 was a part of the manufacturer's original equipment on the vehicle,
1-12 front seat belts in vehicles where seat belt anchorages were part
1-13 of the manufacturer's original equipment on the vehicle, steering
1-14 system (including power steering), wheel assembly, safety guards or
1-15 flaps if required by Section 139A of this Act, tax decal if
1-16 required by Section 141(d) of this Act, sunscreening devices unless
1-17 the vehicle is exempt from sunscreen device restrictions under
1-18 Section 134C(k) or (l) of this Act, exhaust system, and exhaust
1-19 emission system inspected at state-appointed inspection stations or
1-20 by State Inspectors as hereinafter provided. Provisions relating
1-21 to the inspection of trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, or
1-22 mobile homes shall not apply when the registered or gross weight of
1-23 such vehicles and the load carried thereon is four thousand five
2-1 hundred (4,500) pounds or less. Only the mechanism and equipment
2-2 designated in this section may be inspected, and the owner shall
2-3 not be required to have any other equipment or part of his motor
2-4 vehicle inspected as a prerequisite for the issuance of an
2-5 inspection certificate. At the time of inspection the owner or
2-6 operator shall furnish evidence of financial responsibility. The
2-7 evidence of financial responsibility may be shown in the manner
2-8 specified under Section 1B(b), Texas Motor Vehicle
2-9 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-10 Statutes). An inspection certificate may not be issued for a
2-11 vehicle for which the owner or operator fails to furnish the
2-12 required evidence of financial responsibility. An inspection
2-13 facility or station is not liable to any person, including a third
2-14 party, for issuing an inspection certificate in reliance on
2-15 evidence of financial responsibility submitted to the facility or
2-16 station. If the inspection facility or station is the seller of a
2-17 motor vehicle, the inspection facility or station may rely on an
2-18 oral insurance binder.
2-19 (h) (1) The provisions of this section <Act> shall not apply
2-20 to the vehicles referred to in Subsection (a) of this Section when
2-21 moving under or bearing current "Factory-Delivery License Plates"
2-22 or current "In-transit License Plates." Nor shall the provisions
2-23 of this section <Act> apply to farm machinery, road-building
2-24 equipment, farm trailers, paper dealer in-transit tag, machinery
2-25 license, disaster license, parade license, prorate tabs, one-trip
3-1 permits, antique license, temporary 24-hour permits, permit
3-2 license, and all other vehicles required to have a
3-3 slow-moving-vehicle emblem under Section 139(b) of this Act.
3-4 (2) The provisions of this section relating to the
3-5 inspection of windshields do not apply to:
3-6 (A) a classic motor vehicle eligible to be
3-7 registered under Section 5n, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the
3-8 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675-a-5n,
3-9 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
3-10 (B) a farm vehicle eligible to be registered
3-11 under Section 6a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
3-12 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-6a, Vernon's
3-13 Texas Civil Statutes); or
3-14 (C) to a motor vehicle held by a person who
3-15 engages in the business of reselling, repairing, storing,
3-16 exchanging or servicing a motor vehicle.
3-17 SECTION 2. Section 142, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
3-18 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
3-19 by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
3-20 (i) The rules of the commission with respect to motor
3-21 vehicle windshield condition may not exceed the standards
3-22 established for commercial motor vehicle windshield condition under
3-23 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 C.F.R. Part 393.
3-24 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-25 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.