By Alexander                                          H.B. No. 3462
         76R2648 MI-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to  the identification of vessels and outboard motors.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 31.043, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
 1-5     amended to read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 31.043. MANUFACTURER'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.  (a)  All
 1-7     vessels manufactured in Texas for sale and all vessels sold,
 1-8     numbered, or titled in Texas shall carry a manufacturer's hull
 1-9     identification  number clearly imprinted on the structure of the
1-10     vessel or displayed on a plate permanently attached to the vessel.
1-11           (b)  The owner of a vessel that does not have [not required
1-12     to carry] a manufacturer's hull identification number may file an
1-13     application for  a hull identification number with the department
1-14     on forms approved by it.  The application must include a sworn
1-15     statement describing the vessel, proving legal ownership, and, if
1-16     known, stating the  reason for the lack of hull identification
1-17     number.  The application must be signed by the owner of the vessel
1-18     and must be accompanied by a fee of  $25 and a certificate from a
1-19     game warden commissioned by the department stating that the vessel
1-20     has been inspected by the officer and appears to be as applied for
1-21     [$2 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more].
1-22     On receipt of  the application in approved form, the department
1-23     shall enter the information on the records of its office and shall
1-24     issue to the applicant a hull identification number.
 2-1           (c)  No person may intentionally or knowingly destroy,
 2-2     remove, alter, cover, or deface an outboard motor serial number,
 2-3     the manufacturer's hull identification number or plate bearing the
 2-4     hull identification number, or the hull identification number or
 2-5     serial  number issued by the department.  No person may possess a
 2-6     vessel with a hull identification number or an outboard motor with
 2-7     a serial number that has been altered, defaced, mutilated, or
 2-8     removed.
 2-9           (d)  A person who has a vessel with an altered, defaced,
2-10     mutilated, or removed hull identification number or an outboard
2-11     motor with an  altered, defaced, mutilated, or removed serial
2-12     number shall file a sworn statement with the department describing
2-13     the vessel or outboard motor, proving legal ownership, and, if
2-14     known, stating the reason for the destruction, removal, or
2-15     defacement of the number.  The statement must be accompanied by a
2-16     fee of $25 and a certificate from a game warden commissioned by the
2-17     department  that the vessel or outboard motor has been inspected by
2-18     the officer and appears to be as applied for.  On receipt of the
2-19     statement in approved form, the department shall enter the
2-20     information on records of its office and shall issue to the
2-21     applicant a hull identification number or outboard motor serial
2-22     number.
2-23           SECTION 2.  Section 31.047(f), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
2-24     amended to read as follows:
2-25           (f)  An application for a certificate of title on a homemade
2-26     vessel, the origin of which is based on the affidavit of the person
2-27     building the vessel, proof of materials incorporated into the
 3-1     vessel, and the like, must be accompanied by a certificate from a
 3-2     game warden commissioned by the department [peace officer, as
 3-3     defined in the  Code of Criminal Procedure,] that the vessel has
 3-4     been inspected by such officer and appears to be as applied for.
 3-5     The applicant shall pay a fee of  $25 to the department [employer
 3-6     of the peace officer] for this inspection.
 3-7           SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 3-8           (b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
 3-9     application for an identification or serial number or a title that
3-10     is filed with the Parks and Wildlife Department on or after
3-11     September 1, 1999.
3-12           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
3-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.