76R11625 MI-F
By Alexander H.B. No. 3462
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3462:
By Cook C.S.H.B. No. 3462
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the identification of vessels without identification
1-3 numbers and outboard motors without serial numbers.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 31.043, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 31.043. MANUFACTURER'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. (a) All
1-8 vessels manufactured in Texas for sale and all vessels sold,
1-9 numbered, or titled in Texas shall carry a manufacturer's hull
1-10 identification number clearly imprinted on the structure of the
1-11 vessel or displayed on a plate permanently attached to the vessel.
1-12 Except as required to comply with Section 31.024 or 31.047, this
1-13 subsection does not apply to a vessel that is not required by the
1-14 United States Coast Guard to have a hull identification number.
1-15 (b) The owner of a vessel that does not have [not required
1-16 to carry] a manufacturer's hull identification number may file an
1-17 application for a hull identification number with the department on
1-18 forms approved by it. The application must include a sworn
1-19 statement describing the vessel, proving legal ownership, and, if
1-20 known, stating the reason for the lack of hull identification
1-21 number. The application must be signed by the owner of the vessel
1-22 and must be accompanied by a fee of $25 and a certificate from a
1-23 game warden commissioned by the department stating that the vessel
1-24 has been inspected by the officer and appears to be as applied for
2-1 [$2 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more].
2-2 On receipt of the application in approved form, the department
2-3 shall enter the information on the records of its office and shall
2-4 issue to the applicant a hull identification number.
2-5 (c) No person may intentionally or knowingly destroy,
2-6 remove, alter, cover, or deface an outboard motor serial number,
2-7 the manufacturer's hull identification number or plate bearing the
2-8 hull identification number, or the hull identification number or
2-9 serial number issued by the department. No person may possess a
2-10 vessel with a hull identification number or an outboard motor with
2-11 a serial number that has been altered, defaced, mutilated, or
2-12 removed.
2-13 (d) A person who has a vessel with an altered, defaced,
2-14 mutilated, or removed hull identification number or an outboard
2-15 motor with an altered, defaced, mutilated, or removed serial
2-16 number shall file a sworn statement with the department describing
2-17 the vessel or outboard motor, proving legal ownership, and, if
2-18 known, stating the reason for the destruction, removal, or
2-19 defacement of the number. The statement must be accompanied by a
2-20 fee of $25 and a certificate from a game warden commissioned by the
2-21 department that the vessel or outboard motor has been inspected by
2-22 the officer and appears to be as applied for. On receipt of the
2-23 statement in approved form, the department shall enter the
2-24 information on records of its office and shall issue to the
2-25 applicant a hull identification number or outboard motor serial
2-26 number.
2-27 (e) This section does not apply to vessels with a valid
3-1 marine document issued by the United States Coast Guard's National
3-2 Vessel Documentation Center or a federal agency that is a successor
3-3 to the National Vessel Documentation Center.
3-4 SECTION 2. Section 31.047(f), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
3-5 amended to read as follows:
3-6 (f) An application for a certificate of title on a homemade
3-7 vessel, the origin of which is based on the affidavit of the person
3-8 building the vessel, proof of materials incorporated into the
3-9 vessel, and the like, must be accompanied by a certificate from a
3-10 game warden commissioned by the department [peace officer, as
3-11 defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure,] that the vessel has
3-12 been inspected by such officer and appears to be as applied for.
3-13 The applicant shall pay a fee of $25 to the department [employer of
3-14 the peace officer] for this inspection.
3-15 SECTION 3. Section 31.055, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
3-16 amended to read as follows:
3-17 Sec. 31.055. EXCEPTIONS. This subchapter does not apply to
3-18 vessels with a valid marine document issued by the United States
3-19 Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center [Bureau of
3-20 Customs of the United States] or a federal agency that is a
3-21 successor to the National Vessel Documentation Center [Bureau of
3-22 Customs].
3-23 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-24 (b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
3-25 application for an identification or serial number or a title that
3-26 is filed with the Parks and Wildlife Department on or after
3-27 September 1, 1999.
4-1 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.