SRC-JBJ S.B. 1828 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1828
77R10308 JAT-DBy: Lindsay
State Affairs
4/30/2001
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Under current Texas law, a single procedure is used to register all
vehicles.  Annually, the Texas Department of Transportation (department)
mails out to a vehicle owner a renewal notice for each vehicle.  In some
instances, the department is required to send numerous bills to a single
commercial entity that owns many vehicles.  That entity must then return
each notice of renewal to the county tax assessor or the state for
processing.  As proposed, S.B. 1828  allows the department to establish
procedures for the registration of a fleet of vehicles. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Department of
Transportation in SECTION 1 (Section 502.0022, Transportation Code) of this
bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 502A, Transportation Code, by adding Section
502.0022, as follows: 

Sec. 502.0022.  CONSOLIDATED REGISTRATION OF FLEET VEHICLES.  (a) Requires
the Texas Department of Transportation (department) to develop and
implement a system of registration so that an owner of a fleet of motor
vehicles may consolidate the registration of the motor vehicles in the
fleet as an alternative to the separate registration of each motor vehicle
in the fleet. 

(b)  Requires a system of consolidated registration under this section to
allow the owner of a fleet of motor vehicles to register an entire fleet of
motor vehicles in the county of the owner's residence or principal place of
business or those vehicles in a fleet of vehicles that are operated most
regularly in the same county by registering the vehicles in that county. 

  (c)  Requires the department by rule to define "fleet" for purposes of
this section. 
 
  (d)  Authorizes the department to adopt rules to administer this section.

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.