H.B. 534 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 534 By: King Transportation Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Each automobile in the State of Texas is required to have front and back license plates. The Specialty License Plate Program creates license plates with university and organization logos with the proceeds from the sale appropriated to further the cause of the organization. The fee assessed for most specialty license plates is $25, a portion of which is credited to the State Highway Fund to cover the cost of producing the license. The remaining amount is set aside in the General Revenue Fund that is appropriated by the bi-annual appropriations bill to the organization. Currently, the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA) has a specialty license plate designated as a Non-Profit Organization. TSRA supports gun safety education and training programs that are essential to reduce the number of gun-related accidents each year. Recently, they have given a significant amount of grant money to the State 4-H Marksmanship Program. TSRA also has endowed the George Tubb Memorial Scholarship awarded yearly for a Texas A&M University student that is an active shooting competitor. This legislation would continue this and future scholarships supported by the TSRA, and provide grants to 4-H shooting programs to promote safety education. CSHB 534 will afford the opportunity for many students to attend college by reducing the cost of tuition that will surely rise as a result of the state budget shortfall. CSHB 534 creates incentive opportunities for high school and college students that are interested in a career in military service. These incentives are important especially with the increasing appeal of the private industry reducing the number of military personnel. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS CSHB 534 reclassifies the existing TSRA specialty license plate to allow the proceeds from the sale to fund scholarships for university and high school students involved in marksmanship programs The $25 annual fee for the specialty license plate will be dispensed to two accounts. To cover the cost of issuing the plates, $8 of the $25 annual fee will be deposited into the State Highway Fund. The remaining monies will be distributed to the Texas A&M University System that will allocate the college student scholarships. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute differs from the original in that the substitute specifically changes the funding allocation from Texas A&M University to the A&M System to allow for the funding of scholarships for 4-H Club shooting programs that promote safety education in addition to other scholarship programs currently supported by TSRA.