By Goolsby H.B. No. 24
74R627 MWV-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the inspection and insurance of the windshields of
1-3 certain vehicles.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 140(a) and (h), Uniform Act Regulating
1-6 Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
1-7 are amended to read as follows:
1-8 (a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer,
1-9 or mobile home, registered in this state and operated on the
1-10 highways of this state, shall have the tires, brake system
1-11 (including power brake unit), lighting equipment, horns and warning
1-12 devices, mirrors, windshield and windshield wipers if a windshield
1-13 was a part of the manufacturer's original equipment on the vehicle,
1-14 front seat belts in vehicles where seat belt anchorages were part
1-15 of the manufacturer's original equipment on the vehicle, steering
1-16 system (including power steering), wheel assembly, safety guards or
1-17 flaps if required by Section 139A of this Act, tax decal if
1-18 required by Section 141(d) of this Act, sunscreening devices unless
1-19 the vehicle is exempt from sunscreen device restrictions under
1-20 Section 134C(k) or (l) of this Act, exhaust system, and exhaust
1-21 emission system inspected at state-appointed inspection stations or
1-22 by State Inspectors as hereinafter provided. Provisions relating
1-23 to the inspection of trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, or
1-24 mobile homes apply only when the actual gross weight or the
2-1 registered gross weight of such vehicles is greater than four
2-2 thousand five hundred (4,500) pounds. Only the mechanism and
2-3 equipment designated in this section may be inspected, and the
2-4 owner shall not be required to have any other equipment or part of
2-5 his motor vehicle inspected as a prerequisite for the issuance of
2-6 an inspection certificate. At the time of inspection the owner or
2-7 operator shall furnish evidence of financial responsibility. The
2-8 evidence of financial responsibility may be shown in the manner
2-9 specified under Section 1B(a), Texas Motor Vehicle
2-10 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-11 Statutes). A personal automobile insurance policy used as
2-12 evidence of financial responsibility under this subsection must be
2-13 written for a term of 30 days or more as required by Article 5.06,
2-14 Insurance Code. An inspection certificate may not be issued for a
2-15 vehicle for which the owner or operator fails to furnish the
2-16 required evidence of financial responsibility. An inspection
2-17 facility or station is not liable to any person, including a third
2-18 party, for issuing an inspection certificate in reliance on
2-19 evidence of financial responsibility submitted to the facility or
2-20 station. If the inspection facility or station is the seller of a
2-21 motor vehicle, the inspection facility or station may rely on an
2-22 oral insurance binder.
2-23 (h)(1) The provisions of this section <Act> shall not apply
2-24 to the vehicles referred to in Subsection (a) of this Section when
2-25 moving under or bearing current "Factory-Delivery License Plates"
2-26 or current "In-transit License Plates." Nor shall the provisions
2-27 of this section <Act> apply to farm machinery, road-building
3-1 equipment, farm trailers, paper dealer in-transit tag, machinery
3-2 license, disaster license, parade license, prorate tabs, one-trip
3-3 permits, antique license, temporary 24-hour permits, permit
3-4 license, and all other vehicles required to have a
3-5 slow-moving-vehicle emblem under Section 139B <139(b)> of this Act.
3-6 (2) The provisions of this section relating to the
3-7 inspection of windshields do not apply to a classic motor vehicle
3-8 registered under Section 5n, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the
3-9 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5n,
3-10 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a vehicle registered as a farm
3-11 vehicle under Section 6a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the
3-12 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-6a,
3-13 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
3-14 SECTION 2. Section 142, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
3-15 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
3-16 by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
3-17 (i) Except as provided by this subsection, the rules of the
3-18 commission for motor vehicle windshield condition may not exceed
3-19 the standards established for commercial motor vehicle windshield
3-20 condition under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49
3-21 C.F.R. Part 393. A crack in a windshield that is not intersected
3-22 by another crack may not be more than eight inches long.
3-23 SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 5, Insurance Code, is
3-24 amended by adding Article 5.06-7 to read as follows:
3-25 Art. 5.06-7. NO DEDUCTIBLE FOR WINDSHIELD DAMAGE. An
3-26 insurer may not write a policy of motor vehicle insurance requiring
3-27 the insured to bear any cost of repair of the windshield of a motor
4-1 vehicle.
4-2 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
4-3 applies only to an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for
4-4 delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 1996, or to an
4-5 inspection performed on or after January 1, 1996. A policy
4-6 delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1, 1996,
4-7 or an inspection performed before January 1, 1996, is governed by
4-8 the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this
4-9 Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
4-10 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.