By McReynolds                                          H.B. No. 811
         77R3901 DWS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the issuance of Special Olympics Texas license plates.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 533, Health and Safety Code,
 1-5     is amended by adding Section 533.018 to read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 533.018.  SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEXAS ACCOUNT. (a)  The Texas
 1-7     Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Special Olympics
 1-8     Texas account is a separate account in the general revenue fund.
 1-9     The account is composed of money deposited to the credit of the
1-10     account under Section 502.2922, Transportation Code.  Money in the
1-11     account may be used only for the purposes of this section.
1-12           (b)  The department administers the account.  Annually, the
1-13     department shall distribute the money deposited to the credit of
1-14     the account to Special Olympics Texas to be used only to pay for
1-15     costs associated with training and with area and regional
1-16     competitions of the Special Olympics Texas.
1-17           SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is
1-18     amended by adding Section 502.2922 to read as follows:
1-19           Sec. 502.2922.  SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEXAS LICENSE PLATES. (a)
1-20     The department shall issue specially designed license plates for
1-21     passenger cars and light trucks that bear the words "Helping people
1-22     to succeed in life."
1-23           (b)  The department shall design the license plates in
1-24     consultation with Special Olympics Texas.
 2-1           (c)  The department shall issue license plates under this
 2-2     section to a person who:
 2-3                 (1)  applies to the assessor-collector of the county in
 2-4     which the person resides on a form provided by the department; and
 2-5                 (2)  pays an annual fee, in addition to the fee
 2-6     prescribed by Section 502.161 or 502.162, and, if personalized
 2-7     prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the fee
 2-8     prescribed by Section 502.251, in the amount of:
 2-9                       (A)  $30, if the person registers under this
2-10     section fewer than 15 vehicles at the same time under the same
2-11     name; or
2-12                       (B)  $20, if the person registers under this
2-13     section 15 or more vehicles at the same time under the same name.
2-14           (d)  Of each fee collected under Subsection (c)(2), $5 shall
2-15     be used by the department only to defray the cost of administering
2-16     this section.  The department shall deposit the remainder of each
2-17     fee collected to the credit of the Special Olympics Texas account
2-18     established by Section 533.018, Health and Safety Code.
2-19           (e)  If license plates issued under this section are lost,
2-20     stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the plates
2-21     were issued may obtain replacement plates from the department by
2-22     paying a replacement fee of $5.
2-23           (f)  If the owner of a vehicle for which license plates were
2-24     issued under this section disposes of the vehicle during a
2-25     registration year, the owner shall return the special license
2-26     plates to the department.
2-27           SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.