By Hawley                                             H.B. No. 2681

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the issuance of specially designed Texas license plates

 1-3     for Keep Texas Beautiful.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,

 1-6     is amended by adding Section 502.2731 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 502.2731.  KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL LICENSE

 1-8     PLATES.  (a)  The department shall issue specially designed license

 1-9     plates for passenger cars and light commercial motor vehicles

1-10     having a manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of one ton or less

1-11     that include the words "Keep Texas Beautiful" and are of a color,

1-12     quality, and design approved by Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc.

1-13           (b)  The department shall issue license plates under this

1-14     section to a person who:

1-15                 (1)  applies to the county assessor-collector of the

1-16     county in which the person resides on a form provided by the

1-17     department; and

1-18                 (2)  pays an annual fee of $50, in addition to the fee

1-19     prescribed by Section 502.161 or 502.162 and, if personalized

1-20     prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the fee

1-21     prescribed by Section 502.251.

1-22           (c)  There is created in the general revenue fund a special

1-23     nonlapsing fund to be known as the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund.

1-24     Money deposited in the fund shall be dedicated to the purposes set

 2-1     forth in Subsection (h).  Money in the fund shall be held in

 2-2     interest-bearing accounts in public depositories authorized by law

 2-3     and may be invested and reinvested in such securities as are

 2-4     approved by the state.  Interest earned and other money from

 2-5     appropriated state funds and any other source deposited into the

 2-6     Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund becomes a part of the fund and

 2-7     available for use as prescribed for the fund.

 2-8           (d)  The department shall deposit $45 of each fee collected

 2-9     under this section in the state treasury to the credit of the Keep

2-10     Texas Beautiful trust fund.

2-11           (e)  The department shall deposit the remainder of each fee

2-12     collected under this section after deposit as provided by

2-13     Subsection (d) in the state treasury to the credit of the state

2-14     highway fund to be used only to defray the cost of administering

2-15     this section.

2-16           (f)  If license plates issued under this section are lost,

2-17     stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the

2-18     license plates were issued may obtain replacement license plates

2-19     from the department by paying a replacement fee of $5.  If the

2-20     owner of a vehicle for which license plates were issued under this

2-21     section disposes of the vehicle during a registration year, the

2-22     person shall return the special license plates to the department.

2-23           (g)  There is no limit to the number of passenger cars and

2-24     light commercial motor vehicles for which the person may apply for

2-25     the issuance of license plates under this section.

2-26           (h)  Money deposited in the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund

2-27     shall be allocated in its entirety to Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc.

 3-1     The money in the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund shall be

 3-2     transferred from the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund to Keep Texas

 3-3     Beautiful, Inc. not more than one time per calendar year as

 3-4     determined by the department.

 3-5           SECTION 2.  Section 502.252, Transportation Code, is amended

 3-6     to read as follows:

 3-7           Sec. 502.252.  Certain Specialized Plates Available

 3-8     Personalized.  A person applying for license plates under Section

 3-9     502.258, 502.259, 502.260, 502.261, 502.262, 502.263, 502.264,

3-10     502.265, 502.269, 502.270, 502.271, 502.272, 502.273, 502.2731, or

3-11     502.274 may:

3-12                 (1)  have a license plate number assigned by the

3-13     department; or

3-14                 (2)  apply for personalized prestige license plates

3-15     under Section 502.251.

3-16           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-21     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-22     passage, and it is so enacted.