1-1 By: Carona, Hilbert (Senate Sponsor - Henderson) H.B. No. 1225
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1995;
1-3 May 9, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 16, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 16, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to registration and insurance requirements for a former
1-9 military vehicle.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 5a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the
1-12 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a,
1-13 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections
1-14 (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
1-15 (a) Passenger cars, trucks, and motorcycles that are
1-16 twenty-five (25) or more years old and former military vehicles<,>
1-17 shall be excepted from the annual license fee for registration
1-18 otherwise provided by law upon written, sworn application by the
1-19 owner thereof on a form furnished by the Department. Such
1-20 application for a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle shall show
1-21 the make, body style, motor number, and age of the vehicle. An
1-22 application for a former military vehicle shall include the
1-23 vehicle's year of manufacture and a description of the vehicle
1-24 containing information required by the Department. Each
1-25 application shall include <, and> any other information required by
1-26 the Department, and shall also state that the vehicle is a
1-27 collector's item and will be used solely for exhibitions, club
1-28 activities, parades, and other functions of public interest, and in
1-29 no case for regular transportation, and will carry no advertising.
1-30 (b) The Department shall issue license plates which shall
1-31 contain the words "Antique Auto," "Antique Truck," or "Antique
1-32 Motorcycle" and which are valid for a maximum period of five (5)
1-33 years. Alternatively, the Department may allow antique license
1-34 plates to be used on an antique vehicle if the owner of the vehicle
1-35 presents the antique license plates to the Department for approval
1-36 and the antique license plates were issued by this state in the
1-37 same year as the model year of the vehicle. If antique license
1-38 plates are used on a vehicle, the Department shall issue to the
1-39 owner a symbol, valid for a maximum period of five (5) years, to be
1-40 placed on one of the license plates, as determined by the
1-41 Department, designating the year in which the vehicle was
1-42 registered under this section. A former military vehicle operated
1-43 on a public highway is not required to display license plates or
1-44 any symbol, tab, or other device indicating registration of the
1-45 vehicle if proof of current registration for the vehicle, in the
1-46 form prescribed by the Department, is carried in the vehicle and
1-47 the vehicle displays in a prominent location on the vehicle a
1-48 registration mark prescribed by the Department. The Department
1-49 shall allow use of a unique identification mark similar to the mark
1-50 assigned that vehicle by the armed force in which the vehicle was
1-51 used. If such a mark is not used, the Department shall designate a
1-52 registration mark consisting of numbers, letters, or numbers and
1-53 letters in combination, at least two inches in height. To the
1-54 extent possible, the location and design of the registration mark
1-55 under this subsection must conform to the vehicle's official
1-56 military design and markings.
1-57 (d) On application and payment of the proper fee to the
1-58 County Tax Assessor-Collector of the county in which the owner
1-59 resides, the Department shall furnish such license plates or a
1-60 symbol, if applicable, and receipts which shall be issued to the
1-61 owner. Any required <and such> plates or symbol shall be valid
1-62 without renewal for the period for which the vehicle is registered,
1-63 provided such vehicle continues to be owned by the same owner.
1-64 (h) In this section, "former military vehicle" means a
1-65 vehicle that:
1-66 (1) has been, but no longer is, used by the armed
1-67 forces of a national government; and
1-68 (2) displays markings indicating it was a military
2-1 vehicle.
2-2 SECTION 2. The Certificate of Title Act (Article 6687-1,
2-3 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Section 29A to
2-4 read as follows:
2-5 Sec. 29A. Notwithstanding any other law, a certificate of
2-6 title shall be issued for a former military vehicle, as defined by
2-7 Section 5a(h), Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
2-8 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's
2-9 Texas Civil Statutes), regardless of whether the vehicle is
2-10 registered under the laws of this state, if the requirements for
2-11 issuance of a certificate of title, other than the registration
2-12 requirement, are satisfied.
2-13 SECTION 3. Section 140(h), Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
2-14 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
2-15 to read as follows:
2-16 (h) The provisions of this article <Act> shall not apply to
2-17 the vehicles referred to in Subsection (a) of this Section when
2-18 moving under or bearing current "Factory-Delivery License Plates"
2-19 or current "In-transit License Plates." Nor shall the provisions
2-20 of this article <Act> apply to farm machinery, road-building
2-21 equipment, farm trailers, paper dealer in-transit tag, machinery
2-22 license, disaster license, parade license, prorate tabs, one-trip
2-23 permits, antique license, temporary 24-hour permits, permit
2-24 license, and all other vehicles required to have a
2-25 slow-moving-vehicle emblem under Section 139B <139(b)> of this Act,
2-26 or to former military vehicles, as defined by Section 5a(h),
2-27 Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called
2-28 Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
2-29 SECTION 4. Subsection (b-2), Section 1A, Texas Motor Vehicle
2-30 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-31 Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
2-32 (b-2) A motor vehicle that is 25 or more years old or a
2-33 former military vehicle, as defined by Section 5a(h), Chapter 88,
2-34 General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
2-35 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is exempt
2-36 from the requirement of Subsection (a) of this section if:
2-37 (1) the vehicle is used only for exhibitions, club
2-38 activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and
2-39 will not be used for regular transportation; and
2-40 (2) the owner of the vehicle files with the Department
2-41 a sworn affidavit, signed by the owner, stating that the vehicle is
2-42 a collector's item and will be used solely for the purposes listed
2-43 in Subdivision (1) of this subsection.
2-44 SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
2-45 5a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd
2-46 Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-47 Statutes), apply only to a vehicle registration period beginning on
2-48 or after the effective date of this Act.
2-49 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
2-50 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
2-51 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-52 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-53 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-54 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-55 * * * * *