HBA-MPA H.B. 1906 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1906 By: West, George Transportation 4/11/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In recent years, specialty license plates have offered citizens of Texas the opportunity to support financially deserving programs of their choice. Fee revenue generated by the sale of such plates is deposited to funds which defray the costs associated with a specific cause. There is a need for additional funds to support conservation efforts by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the public has expressed a desire to accomplish this through special license plate purchases. Presently no such dedicated fund exists. H.B.1906 authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation to issue one or more specially designed conservation license plates to support Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's parks, fisheries, and wildlife-related activities. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.298, as follows: Sec. 502.298. CONSERVATION LICENSE PLATES. (a) Requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to issue one or more specially designed conservation license plates for passenger cars and light trucks to support Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). (b) Provides that each plate must be of a color, quality, and design approved by TPWD. (c) Requires TxDOT to issue license plates under this section to a person who applies to the county assessor-collector on an original or renewal form provided by TxDOT, and pays an annual fee of $25 in addition to the fee prescribed in Sections 502.161 (Fee: Passenger Car, Municipal Bus, Private Bus) and 502.251 (Personalized Prestige License Plates). (d) Requires TxDOT to deposit $20 of the $25 collected under Subsections (c) and (e) to the credit of the Texas parks and wildlife capital account (account) established by Section 11.043 (Texas Parks and Wildlife Capital Account), Parks and Wildlife Code. Authorizes TxDOT to use the remaining $5 of the fee to defray the costs of administering this section. (e) Provides that the fee for replacement of a lost, stolen, or mutilated license plate issued under this section is $25, in addition to the fee prescribed by Section 502.184(a) (Replacement of Lost, Stolen, or Mutilated License Plate or Registration Insignia). (f) Requires an owner who disposes of a vehicle registered under this section during the registration year to return the license plates to TxDOT. (g) Provides that there is no limit to the number of passenger cars or light trucks for which a person may be issued license plates under this section. (h) Provides that money deposited in the account under this section is supplementary and is not income for the purposes of reducing the general revenue appropriation to TPWD. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.