BILL ANALYSIS



C.S.H.B. 2957
By: Carter
05-05-95
Committee Report (Substituted)


BACKGROUND

Currently, there is an ever growing problem of underground
fictitious vehicle registration stickers, inspection stickers, and
liability insurance cards.  People are using these to circumvent
the liability insurance laws.

PURPOSE

This bill restructures the penalties by putting them all within the
jurisdiction of the justice and municipal courts; setting uniform
fine ranges from $100 to $500; mandates seizure of a vehicle with
a fictitious sticker attached; and subjects the defendant to a
drivers license suspension hearing.  This proposal removes the
burden of proving a culpable mental state but provides statutory
protection for those who unknowingly borrow a vehicle with these
violations.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly
grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer,
department, agency, or institution.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1: Amends Section 5, Chapter 3, Article 6675a-3e, Vernon's
Texas Civil Statutes as follows:
(a)Expands the registration requirements to all motor vehicles
under the same statute.
(b)Requires all motor vehicles to display the registration and
extends the requirements to beaches to conform with language in
other statues.
(e)This existing law that has been moved from another statute.
(f)Same as (e)
(g)This subsection centralizes registration violations.  The
penalty for expired registration is the same but expands the
penalties for those who mislead the police about the vehicle being
registered.  The burden of proving a culpable mental state is
removed from the prosecution but an affirmative defense is provided
a driver who borrows a vehicle not knowing that the owner has
fictitious registration.  In (5) the common excuse is taken away
from an owner that some mythical person put the fictitious sticker
on his vehicle.
(h)(1)     This subsection now requires (instead of allows) the
police to seize a vehicle with a fictitious symbol but protects a
family of company that accidentally switches two or more stickers
that are purchased at the same time.
(2)Provides redemption standards for the owner.
(i)This is existing law moved from another statute except it is
unclear in that existing statute whether it is an offense to have
a dirty license plate.

SECTION 2: Amends Section 8, Chapter 3, Article 6675a-3e, Vernon's
Texas Civil Statutes as follows:
This section provides authority from enhanced penalties contained
within this bill for fictitious or misleading registration
violations.

SECTION 3: Amends Section 22(b), Chapter 173, Article 6687(b),
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes as follows:
Three enhanced penalties of drivers license suspension hearings are
provided for on page 8 of this bill.  (17) is for fictitious
registration symbols or switching license plates. (18) is for
having a fictitious inspection sticker or a sticker put on without
inspection.  (19) is for submitting a fictitious liability
insurance card to avoid a no liability insurance conviction.

SECTION 4: Amends Sections 141(d)(2) and (5), Article 6701d,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes as follows:
This section enhances the penalties for a fictitious inspection
sticker or a sticker put on without an inspection.  It also removes
a culpable mental state requirement but protects an innocent
borrower of the vehicle.  It disallows a defense of an owner that
he allowed another to obtain the certificate.  (f) mandates the
police to seize their vehicle with a fictitious inspection sticker. 
(g), (h), (i), and (ii) provides the standards for redeeming the
vehicle.

SECTION 5: Amends Article 6701g-3, Revised Statutes, by adding
Section 6 as follows:
This section provides a fourteenth amendment right for an owner or
lienholder to redeem the seized vehicle and ties the procedure into
existing law for abandoned vehicles to allow a governmental entity
to dispose of a vehicle that is not redeemed.

SECTION 6: Amends Section 1D, Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes
Provides the enhanced penalties for producing a fictitious
liability insurance card.  It removes the burden of culpable mental
state and allowing another to obtain the fictitious document.

SECTION 7: Amends Section 32(b), Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas
Civil Statutes
Clarifies any question on false reporting after an accident.

SECTION 8: These repealed articles are the ones being rewritten in
this act.

SECTION 9: This law applies to offenses committed on or after, or
vehicles seized, September 1, 1995.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2957 provides for a $100 minimum fine for using a
fictitious license number plate.  The original H.B. 2957 provided
for a maximum fine of $200. C.S.H.B. 2957 also stipulates that it
is an affirmative defense if the operator of the vehicle did not
own the vehicle and did not know that the license number plate was
issued to another vehicle.  C.S.H.B. 2957 also provides that if two
vehicles were register simultaneously by the same person and both
vehicles have liability insurance coverage, the vehicle shall not
be seized.  The original bill did not include this language. The
substitute extends coverage to all fictitious inspection stickers
and provides that Article 6675b-4 is repealed. The substitute
indicates that if certain conditions are met, an impounded vehicle
may be returned to its owner. It allows for the car to be released
to the owner, if a bond is posted.  The substitute requires that
the vehicle be inspected within 7 days and then bring proof of the
inspection to the court within 10 days.  The original did not
include this language. C.S.H.B. 2957 provides that all fines or
bonds be posted for all citations issued incidental to the
impoundment. The substitute also requires that a owner of an
impounded vehicle prepay 90 days of insurance as a condition
redeeming a car that has been impounded.  The original bill only
stated that insurance coverage was established or arranged prior to
release of the vehicle. C.S.H.B. 2957 also indicates that if
conditions are not met within 10 days of the hearing, the person
waives all rights to the vehicle. The vehicle may be sold at public
auction.  The original bill did not provide for the forfeiture of
the vehicle. Finally, C.S.H.B. 2957 provides that a person may not
operate an unregistered vehicle.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION

Pursuant to a public notice posted on April 21, 1995, at 4:04 p.m.,
the House Committee on Transportation met in a public hearing on
Wednesday, April 26, 1995, at 2:00 p.m., or upon adjournment, in
Room E1.014 of the Capitol Extension and was called to order at
6:13 p.m. by the Chair, Representative Clyde Alexander.  The Chair
laid out H.B. 2957 and recognized Representative Carter to explain
H.B. 2957.  The Chair recognized the following persons who
testified in support of H.B. 2957.  Judge Sandy Prindle, Tx.
Justice of the Peace Association.  The Chair left H.B. 2957 pending
before the Committee.  Pursuant to a public notice announced from
the House Floor on May 5, 1995, in accordance with House Rules, the
House Committee on Transportation met in a formal meeting on the
House Floor, at Desk 22, on Friday, May 5, 1995, and was called to
order by the Chairman, Representative Clyde Alexander at 12:39 p.m. 
The Chair laid out H.B. 2957 by Carter, which was pending before
the Committee.  Representative Alexander laid out the Committee
substitute to H.B. 2957, and without objection, the substitute was
adopted.  Representative Uher moved that the Committee report H.B.
2957, as substituted, to the full House with the recommendation
that it do pass.  The motion prevailed by the following vote: Ayes
(6), Nayes (0), Absent (3), Present not voting (0).