SRC-SEW C.S.S.B. 1520 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterC.S.S.B. 1520
77R12753 MTB-DBy: Lucio
Finance
4/22/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has begun the
process to upgrade its 10year-old automated Registration and Titling System
(RTS).  Legislation enacted during the 76th Legislature added $1 to the
registration fee for each vehicle in certain counties in order to fund RTS
enhancements.  The revenue from this fee generated $14.4 million in fiscal
2000 and a total of about $30 million will be collected by the end of
fiscal 2001. The total collected by the end of fiscal 2003, about $30
million, is expected to be enough to cover the cost of upgrading RTS.
TxDOT will need funding to make on-going enhancements to RTS, but the
current annual income should not be necessary.  C.S.S.B. 1520 reduces the
fee for enhancing RTS from $1 to $0.35 per vehicle beginning in fiscal 2004
and requires $0.25 of that fee to be used for enhancing RTS while requiring
the remaining $0.10 to be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund
to defray the cost of issuing disabled parking placards. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 502.1705, Transportation Code, as follows:  

Sec.  502.1705.  New heading: ADDITIONAL FEE FOR AUTOMATED REGISTRATION AND
TITLE SYSTEM AND DISABLED PARKING PLACARDS.  Requires a fee of 35 cents,
rather than $1, to be collected in addition to other registration fees for
a license plate or set of license plates or other device used as the
registration insignia.  Authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation
(department), of each fee collected under this section, to use 25 cents for
certain purposes and to deposit 10 cents to the credit of the state highway
fund to defray the cost of issuing disabled parking placards under Section
681.004.  Provides that this section applies only in a county in which the
department's automated registration and title system has been implemented
and in which 50,000 or more motor vehicles were registered during the
preceding year.   

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2004.  
  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES

Amends As Filed S.B. 1520 as follows:

SECTION 1.  Omits original SECTION 1 and adds a new SECTION 1.  

SECTION 2.  No change.