1-1 By: Hawley (Senate Sponsor - Lindsay) H.B. No. 2681 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1997; 1-3 May 9, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance; 1-4 May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 13, 1-5 Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the issuance of specially designed Texas license plates 1-9 for Keep Texas Beautiful. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, 1-12 is amended by adding Section 502.2731 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 502.2731. KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL LICENSE 1-14 PLATES. (a) The department shall issue specially designed license 1-15 plates for passenger cars and light commercial motor vehicles 1-16 having a manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of one ton or less 1-17 that include the words "Keep Texas Beautiful" and are of a color, 1-18 quality, and design approved by Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc. 1-19 (b) The department shall issue license plates under this 1-20 section to a person who: 1-21 (1) applies to the county assessor-collector of the 1-22 county in which the person resides on a form provided by the 1-23 department; and 1-24 (2) pays an annual fee of $50, in addition to the fee 1-25 prescribed by Section 502.161 or 502.162 and, if personalized 1-26 prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the fee 1-27 prescribed by Section 502.251. 1-28 (c) There is created in the general revenue fund a special 1-29 nonlapsing fund to be known as the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund. 1-30 Money deposited in the fund shall be dedicated to the purposes set 1-31 forth in Subsection (h). Money in the fund shall be held in 1-32 interest-bearing accounts in public depositories authorized by law 1-33 and may be invested and reinvested in such securities as are 1-34 approved by the state. Interest earned and other money from 1-35 appropriated state funds and any other source deposited into the 1-36 Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund becomes a part of the fund and 1-37 available for use as prescribed for the fund. 1-38 (d) The department shall deposit $45 of each fee collected 1-39 under this section in the state treasury to the credit of the Keep 1-40 Texas Beautiful trust fund. 1-41 (e) The department shall deposit the remainder of each fee 1-42 collected under this section after deposit as provided by 1-43 Subsection (d) in the state treasury to the credit of the state 1-44 highway fund to be used only to defray the cost of administering 1-45 this section. 1-46 (f) If license plates issued under this section are lost, 1-47 stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the 1-48 license plates were issued may obtain replacement license plates 1-49 from the department by paying a replacement fee of $5. If the 1-50 owner of a vehicle for which license plates were issued under this 1-51 section disposes of the vehicle during a registration year, the 1-52 person shall return the special license plates to the department. 1-53 (g) There is no limit to the number of passenger cars and 1-54 light commercial motor vehicles for which the person may apply for 1-55 the issuance of license plates under this section. 1-56 (h) Money deposited in the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund 1-57 shall be allocated in its entirety to Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc. 1-58 The money in the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund shall be 1-59 transferred from the Keep Texas Beautiful trust fund to Keep Texas 1-60 Beautiful, Inc. not more than one time per calendar year as 1-61 determined by the department. 1-62 SECTION 2. Section 502.252, Transportation Code, is amended 1-63 to read as follows: 1-64 Sec. 502.252. Certain Specialized Plates Available 2-1 Personalized. A person applying for license plates under Section 2-2 502.258, 502.259, 502.260, 502.261, 502.262, 502.263, 502.264, 2-3 502.265, 502.269, 502.270, 502.271, 502.272, 502.273, 502.2731, or 2-4 502.274 may: 2-5 (1) have a license plate number assigned by the 2-6 department; or 2-7 (2) apply for personalized prestige license plates 2-8 under Section 502.251. 2-9 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-15 passage, and it is so enacted. 2-16 * * * * *