1-1     By:  Alexander (Senate Sponsor - Ratliff)             H.B. No. 2461
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 1999;
 1-3     April 27, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on State
 1-4     Affairs; May 10, 1999, reported favorably, as amended, by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 10, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1                                 By:  Cain
 1-7     Amend H.B. 2461 in SECTION 1 of the bill, Section 502.2525,
 1-8     Subsection (a) by striking number (11) and renumbering
 1-9     appropriately.  (House Engrossment, page 1, line 35)
1-10                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-11                                   AN ACT
1-12     relating to the issuance of certain specially designed license
1-13     plates by the Texas Department of Transportation.
1-14           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-15           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,
1-16     is amended by adding Sections 502.2525 and 502.2526 to read as
1-17     follows:
1-18           Sec. 502.2525.  DISCONTINUANCE OF CERTAIN SPECIALIZED LICENSE
1-19     PLATES.  (a)  This section applies only to license plates
1-20     authorized by:
1-21                 (1)  Section 502.269;
1-22                 (2)  Section 502.270;
1-23                 (3)  Section 502.2703;
1-24                 (4)  Section 502.271;
1-25                 (5)  Section 502.272;
1-26                 (6)  Section 502.2731;
1-27                 (7)  Section 502.291, as added by Chapter 165, Acts of
1-28     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-29                 (8)  Section 502.291, as added by Chapter 657, Acts of
1-30     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-31                 (9)  Section 502.292, as added by Chapter 61, Acts of
1-32     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-33                 (10)  Section 502.292, as added by Chapter 397, Acts of
1-34     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-35                 (11)  Section 502.292, as added by Chapter 1312, Acts
1-36     of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-37                 (12)  Section 502.293, as added by Chapter 511, Acts of
1-38     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-39                 (13)  Section 502.293, as added by Chapter 1247, Acts
1-40     of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997;
1-41                 (14)  Section 502.294, as added by Chapter 1222, Acts
1-42     of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997; or
1-43                 (15)  Section 502.295, as added by Chapter 581, Acts of
1-44     the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997.
1-45           (b)  Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), on or
1-46     after September 1, 2004, the department may continue to issue
1-47     license plates to which this section applies only if before that
1-48     date at least:
1-49                 (1)  3,500 sets of the license plates authorized by a
1-50     section of this subchapter specified by Subsection (a)  have been
1-51     issued or presold;
1-52                 (2)  $15,000 has been received by the department from
1-53     the issuance of license plates under that section; or
1-54                 (3)  $15,000 has been deposited with the department for
1-55     the continued issuance of those license plates.
1-56           (c)  If before September 1, 2004, one of the conditions
1-57     described by Subsection (b) is not met for a type of license plate
1-58     to which this section applies, the section of this subchapter that
1-59     authorizes the issuance of that type of license plate expires on
1-60     that date.
1-61           (d)  On or after September 1, 2004, the department may
1-62     continue to issue license plates under:
1-63                 (1)  Section 502.270 for a particular institution of
 2-1     higher education or private college or university only if before
 2-2     that date:
 2-3                       (A)  1,500 sets of license plates for the
 2-4     particular institution, college, or university have been issued or
 2-5     presold;
 2-6                       (B)  $15,000 has been received by the department
 2-7     from the issuance of the license plates for that institution,
 2-8     college, or university; or
 2-9                       (C)  $15,000 has been deposited with the
2-10     department for the continued issuance of the license plates for
2-11     that institution, college, or university; or
2-12                 (2)  Section 502.2703 for a particular professional
2-13     sports team only if before that date:
2-14                       (A)  5,000 sets of the license plates for that
2-15     sports team have been issued or presold;
2-16                       (B)  $15,000 has been received by the department
2-17     from the issuance of license plates for that sports team; or
2-18                       (C)  $15,000 has been deposited with the
2-19     department for the continued issuance of license plates for that
2-20     sports team.
2-21           (e)  If before September 1, 2004, the department has not
2-22     issued any license plates under Section 502.2703, that section
2-23     expires on that date.
2-24           (f)  Money deposited with the department under Subsection
2-25     (b)(3), (d)(1)(C), or (d)(2)(C) shall be returned by the department
2-26     to the person who made the deposit only after the requisite number
2-27     of license plates under those subsections are issued or presold.
2-28           Sec. 502.2526.  SPECIALIZED LICENSE PLATES AUTHORIZED AFTER
2-29     JANUARY 1, 1999.  (a)  This section applies only to specialized
2-30     license plates that are authorized to be issued by a law that takes
2-31     effect on or after January 1, 1999.
2-32           (b)  The department may manufacture the specialized license
2-33     plates only if a request for manufacture of the license plates is
2-34     filed with the department.  The request must be:
2-35                 (1)  made on a form adopted by the department;
2-36                 (2)  filed  before the fifth anniversary of the
2-37     effective date of the law that authorizes the issuance of the
2-38     specialized license plates; and
2-39                 (3)  accompanied by:
2-40                       (A)  a deposit of $15,000; or
2-41                       (B)  applications for issuance of at least 3,500
2-42     sets of the license plates plus the fees for issuance of that
2-43     number of sets.
2-44           (c)  Money deposited with the department under Subsection
2-45     (b)(3)(A) shall be returned to the person who made the deposit only
2-46     if 3,500 sets of the applicable license plates are issued or
2-47     presold.
2-48           (d)  If a request is not filed with the department before the
2-49     date specified by Subsection (b)(2), the law that authorizes the
2-50     issuance of the specialized license plates expires on that date.
2-51           SECTION 2.  Sections 502.2731(c) and (e), Transportation
2-52     Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-53           (c)  The department shall issue license plates under this
2-54     section to a person who:
2-55                 (1)  applies to the county assessor-collector of the
2-56     county in which the person resides on a form provided by the
2-57     department; and
2-58                 (2)  pays an annual fee of $25 [$50], in addition to
2-59     the fee prescribed by Section 502.161 or Section 502.162 and, if
2-60     personalized prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the
2-61     fee prescribed by Section 502.251.
2-62           (e)  Twenty [Forty-five] dollars of each fee collected under
2-63     Subsection (c)(2) may be used by the department only for the
2-64     purposes of supporting the department's litter prevention and
2-65     community beautification programs.  The remainder of each fee
2-66     collected may be used by the department only to defray the cost of
2-67     administering this section.
2-68           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-69     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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