1-1 By: Counts (Senate Sponsor - Cain) H.B. No. 2845
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1995;
1-3 May 12, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 22, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 22, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the powers, functions, authority, and duties of the
1-9 Automobile Theft Prevention Authority.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Article 4413(37), Title 70, Revised Statutes, is
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 Art. 4413(37). Automobile theft prevention authority
1-14 Sec. 1. Definitions. In this article:
1-15 (1) "Authority" means the Automobile Theft Prevention
1-16 Authority.
1-17 (2) "Economic automobile theft" means automobile theft
1-18 committed for financial gain.
1-19 Sec. 2. Establishment of authority. The Automobile Theft
1-20 Prevention Authority is established in the Texas Department of
1-21 Transportation. The authority is not an advisory body to the Texas
1-22 Department of Transportation. The Texas Department of
1-23 Transportation shall, at the direction of the authority, implement
1-24 authority decisions <criminal justice division of the governor's
1-25 office>.
1-26 Sec. 3. Appointment of authority. (a) The authority is
1-27 composed of seven members.
1-28 (b) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
1-29 shall appoint the following six members:
1-30 (1) two representatives of motor vehicle insurance
1-31 consumers;
1-32 (2) two representatives of insurance companies writing
1-33 motor vehicle insurance in this state; and
1-34 (3) two representatives of law enforcement.
1-35 (c) The director of the Department of Public Safety or the
1-36 director's designee serves ex officio as the seventh member of the
1-37 authority.
1-38 (d) Appointments to the authority shall be made without
1-39 regard to race, color, handicap, sex, religion, age, or national
1-40 origin of the appointees.
1-41 (e) The six members of the authority appointed by the
1-42 governor serve staggered six-year terms, with the terms of two
1-43 members expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year. If there is
1-44 a vacancy during a term, the governor shall appoint a replacement
1-45 who meets the requirements of the vacant office to fill the
1-46 unexpired term.
1-47 (f) It is a ground for removal from the authority if a
1-48 member:
1-49 (1) does not have at the time of appointment the
1-50 qualifications required by Subsection (b) of this section;
1-51 (2) does not maintain during service on the authority
1-52 the qualifications required by Subsection (b) of this section;
1-53 (3) cannot discharge the member's duties for a
1-54 substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed
1-55 because of illness or disability; or
1-56 (4) is absent from more than half of the regularly
1-57 scheduled authority meetings that the member is eligible to attend
1-58 during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by majority
1-59 vote of the authority.
1-60 (g) The validity of an action of the authority is not
1-61 affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of
1-62 a member of the authority exists.
1-63 (h) If the chairman has knowledge that a potential ground
1-64 for removal exists, the chairman shall notify the governor of that
1-65 fact.
1-66 Sec. 4. Expenses. A member of the authority is not entitled
1-67 to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for expenses
1-68 incurred in performing the member's duties at the rate provided in
2-1 the General Appropriations Act.
2-2 Sec. 5. Officers; meetings. (a) At the first meeting of
2-3 each calendar year, the authority shall elect a chairman from its
2-4 members.
2-5 (b) The authority shall meet at the call of the chairman or
2-6 at the call of four members.
2-7 Sec. 6. Powers and duties. (a) The authority shall adopt
2-8 rules to implement its powers and duties.
2-9 (b) The authority may solicit and accept gifts and grants.
2-10 (c) The authority may employ and compensate staff in
2-11 coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation, and may
2-12 delegate authority to the staff as needed <as provided by
2-13 legislative appropriation or may use staff provided by the
2-14 governor's office>.
2-15 (d) Not later than April 1 of each year, the authority shall
2-16 report on its activities to the lieutenant governor and the speaker
2-17 of the house of representatives.
2-18 (e) The authority may contract for various services with
2-19 other state agencies as needed to carry out its purposes, powers,
2-20 and duties. These services may include, but are not limited to,
2-21 legal services, fiscal services, administrative services, and
2-22 personnel services. The authority may enter into contracts in its
2-23 own name and on its own behalf.
2-24 Sec. 6A. POWER TO REFUND. (a) The authority may make
2-25 determinations regarding the sufficiency of payments made by an
2-26 "insurer" (as defined under Section 10 of this article) of fees
2-27 collected pursuant to Section 10 of this article.
2-28 (b) Pursuant to such determination, the authority may:
2-29 (1) notify the comptroller that payments made by an
2-30 insurer are sufficient;
2-31 (2) request the comptroller to draw warrants on the
2-32 automobile theft prevention fund for the purpose of refunding
2-33 monies to an insurer.
2-34 (c) The authority shall make the determination under
2-35 Subsection (b) of this section as follows:
2-36 (1) the two members of the authority who are
2-37 representatives of insurance companies writing motor vehicle
2-38 insurance in this state shall recuse themselves;
2-39 (2) the remaining five members of the authority shall
2-40 make the determination by a simple majority vote.
2-41 (d) Determinations made under this section shall be
2-42 performed in accordance with procedures set forth in rules adopted
2-43 by the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority. The question of
2-44 eligibility for a refund is not a contested case within the meaning
2-45 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 2001, Government
2-46 Code).
2-47 (e) This Section 6A applies to requests that are or have
2-48 been submitted to the authority on or after the effective date of
2-49 this Section 6A.
2-50 Sec. 7. Plan of operation. (a) The authority shall develop
2-51 and implement a plan of operation.
2-52 (b) The plan of operation must include:
2-53 (1) an assessment of the scope of the problems of
2-54 automobile theft and economic automobile theft, including
2-55 particular areas of the state where the problems are greatest;
2-56 (2) an analysis of various methods of combating the
2-57 problems of automobile theft and economic automobile theft;
2-58 (3) a plan for providing financial support to combat
2-59 automobile theft and economic automobile theft; and
2-60 (4) an estimate of the funds required to implement the
2-61 plan of operation.
2-62 Sec. 8. Automobile theft prevention fund. (a) The
2-63 automobile theft prevention fund is an account in the state
2-64 treasury.
2-65 (b) The treasurer shall administer the fund and may invest
2-66 the fund in the same manner as other state funds.
2-67 (c) The comptroller shall deposit to the credit of the fund
2-68 any gift or grant of money accepted by the authority and money
2-69 collected under Sections 9 and 10 of this article. The comptroller
2-70 shall draw warrants on the fund at the request of the authority,
3-1 except that a warrant may not exceed the amount in the fund.
3-2 (d) Interest or income on amounts deposited in the
3-3 automobile theft prevention fund shall be credited to the fund.
3-4 (e) Money credited to the fund shall be used by the
3-5 authority to pay administrative costs and to achieve the purposes
3-6 of this article, including:
3-7 (1) establishing and funding the automobile
3-8 registration program required by Section 9 of this article;
3-9 (2) providing financial support to law enforcement
3-10 agencies for economic automobile theft enforcement teams;
3-11 (3) providing financial support to law enforcement
3-12 agencies, local prosecutors, judicial agencies, and neighborhood,
3-13 community, business, and nonprofit organizations for programs
3-14 designed to reduce the incidence of economic automobile theft;
3-15 (4) conducting educational programs designed to inform
3-16 automobile owners of methods of preventing automobile theft;
3-17 (5) providing equipment, for experimental purposes, to
3-18 assist automobile owners in preventing automobile theft; and
3-19 (6) establishing a uniform program to prevent stolen
3-20 motor vehicles from entering Mexico.
3-21 Sec. 9. Automobile registration program. (a) The authority
3-22 shall develop a statewide automobile registration program to be
3-23 administered by the Department of Public Safety.
3-24 (b) The authority shall identify a period of the day during
3-25 which most automobiles are not used. An owner of an automobile
3-26 that does not usually use the automobile during that period may
3-27 register the automobile with the Department of Public Safety in
3-28 accordance with the program developed by the authority.
3-29 (c) The authority shall develop a form for registration of
3-30 an automobile under the program. The form shall advise the owner
3-31 of the automobile of the provisions of Subsection (f) of this
3-32 section. An automobile may not be registered under the program
3-33 unless the owner consents to the provisions of Subsection (f) of
3-34 this section.
3-35 (d) The program must provide a method for an owner to
3-36 withdraw an automobile from the program. The program may not
3-37 require owners of automobiles to participate in the program.
3-38 (e) The department shall issue to the owner of an automobile
3-39 registered under this section a decal or other appropriate
3-40 identifying marker to be affixed to the automobile to indicate that
3-41 the automobile is registered with the program.
3-42 (f) A peace officer who observes a registered automobile
3-43 that is being operated during the period of the day identified by
3-44 the authority under Subsection (b) of this section may stop the
3-45 automobile to determine whether the automobile is being operated by
3-46 the owner or with the owner's permission.
3-47 (g) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules to
3-48 administer the program and shall adopt fees in an amount sufficient
3-49 to recover the cost of administering the program. Money collected
3-50 by the department under this subsection shall be deposited to the
3-51 credit of the automobile theft prevention fund.
3-52 Sec. 10. Fee. (a) In this section:
3-53 (1) "Insurer" means any insurance company writing any
3-54 form of motor vehicle insurance in this state, including an
3-55 interinsurance or reciprocal exchange, mutual company, mutual
3-56 association, or Lloyd's plan.
3-57 (2) "Motor vehicle years of insurance" means the total
3-58 number of years or portions of years during which a motor vehicle
3-59 is covered by insurance.
3-60 (b) Not later than March <February> 1 of each year, each
3-61 insurer shall pay to the authority a fee equal to $1 multiplied by
3-62 the total number of motor vehicle years of insurance for insurance
3-63 policies delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed by the insurer
3-64 during the preceding calendar year.
3-65 (c) The fee imposed by this section is in addition to any
3-66 other fee or tax imposed by law on an insurer.
3-67 (d) The authority shall notify the State Board of Insurance
3-68 of any insurer that fails to pay the fee required by this section,
3-69 and the board may for that reason revoke the insurer's certificate
3-70 of authority.
4-1 (e) If the authority is abolished under Section 12 of this
4-2 article or otherwise, the comptroller shall deposit to the general
4-3 revenue fund any money that is in the automobile theft prevention
4-4 fund on the date that the authority is abolished.
4-5 Sec. 11. Performance review. (a) In this section,
4-6 "automobile theft rate" means the ratio of automobile thefts in
4-7 this state to the number of automobiles in this state. The ratio
4-8 shall be based on statistical information provided by the
4-9 Department of Public Safety's uniform crime reporting division.
4-10 (b) The authority shall determine the automobile theft rate
4-11 as of the date a majority of the members of the authority are
4-12 appointed and have qualified for office and shall report the rate
4-13 to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
4-14 representatives. The report required by this subsection shall be
4-15 made not later than 30 days after the date on which a majority of
4-16 the initial members of the authority are appointed and have
4-17 qualified for office.
4-18 <(c) Not later than August 1, 1997, the authority shall
4-19 determine the automobile theft rate as of July 1, 1997, and shall
4-20 report the rate to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the
4-21 house of representatives. If the rate is larger than the rate
4-22 established by the authority under Subsection (b) of this section,
4-23 the authority is abolished and contracts entered into by the
4-24 authority terminate effective August 31, 1997.>
4-25 <(d) If the authority is abolished under Subsection (c) of
4-26 this section, the comptroller shall deposit to the general revenue
4-27 fund any money that is in the automobile theft prevention fund on
4-28 the date that the authority is abolished.>
4-29 Sec. 12. SUNSET PROVISION. The Automobile Theft Prevention
4-30 Authority is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset
4-31 Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
4-32 the authority is abolished and this article expires September 1,
4-33 1997.
4-34 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
4-35 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-36 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-37 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-38 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-39 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-40 passage, and it is so enacted.
4-41 * * * * *