HBA-MPM, KMH H.B. 2004 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2004 By: Pickett Transportation 8/11/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 76th Legislature, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) did not have the authority to lease additional registration and titling system workstations to counties. These workstations were allocated by TxDOT based on the number of transactions a county handles in a month. Once a county exceeded a certain number of transactions it was allocated another workstation. H.B. 2004 authorizes TxDOT to lease additional workstations to counties for an amount equal to the cost to TxDOT to make them available. 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 A, Chapter 520, Transportation Code, by adding Section 520.002, as follows: Sec. 520.002. LEASE OF ADDITIONAL COMPUTER EQUIPMENT. (a) Makes this section applicable only to the lease of equipment to a county for the operation of automated registration and title system in addition to equipment provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) at no cost to the county under a TxDOT-prescribed formula. (b) Authorizes TxDOT to enter into an agreement with the commissioners court of that county under which TxDOT leases additional equipment to the county for the use of the tax assessor-collector in operating the automated registration and title system in that county on request of the tax assessor-collector. (c) Authorizes a county to install equipment leased under this section at offices of the county or of an agent of the county. (d) Provides that equipment leased under this section remains the property of TxDOT and must be used primarily for the automated registration and title system. (e) Requires TxDOT to charge the county an amount not less than the amount of the cost to TxDOT to provide the additional equipment and any related services under the lease. Requires all money collected under the lease to be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.