SRC-SEW S.B. 1563 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research CenterS.B. 1563 By: Shapleigh State Affairs 6/14/2001 Enrolled DIGEST AND PURPOSE The mission of the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is to eliminate communication barriers and to guarantee equal access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. S.B. 1563 requires the Texas Department of Transportation to issue a specially designed Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (commission) license plate and requires that the majority of the fee collected for these plates be appropriated to the commission for direct services programs, training, and education. 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 Chapter 502F, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.2735, as follows: Sec. 502.2735. TEXAS COMMISSION FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING LICENSE PLATES. (a) Requires the Texas Department of Transportation (department) to issue specially designed Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing license plates for passenger cars and light trucks. (b) Requires the department to design the license plates in consultation with the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (c) Requires the department to issue license plates under this section to a person who meets certain requirements. (d) Requires $5 of each fee collected under Subsection (c) to be used by the department only to defray the cost of administering this section. (e) Requires the remainder of each fee collected to be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and authorizes the remainder to be appropriated only to the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for direct services programs, training, and education. (f) Requires the owner, if the owner of a vehicle for which license plates were issued under this section disposes of the vehicle during a registration year, to return the special license plates to the department. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2001.