SRC-AMY S.B. 1704 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1704
78R9069 TBy: Wentworth
Infrastructure Development and Security
3/27/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Texas law allows for the creation of specialty license plates,
but new legislation is required to make each additional license plate
available to the public.  As proposed, S.B. 1704 creates the process for
requesting new specialty license plates from the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) and for TxDOT to issue those plates.  This bill
also authorizes TxDOT to create new specialty license plates upon its own
initiative. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Transportation
Commission in SECTION 1 (Section 502.2524, Transportation Code) of this
bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 502F, Transportation Code, by adding Section
502.2524, as follows: 

Sec. 502.2524.  CREATION OF NEW SPECIALTY PLATES BY THE DEPARTMENT.  (a)
Authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to create new
specialty license plates, which may be personalized, on its own initiative
or on receipt of an application from a potential sponsor.  Requires a new
specialty plate created under this section to meet the requirements of
Section 502.2526, Transportation Code (Specialized License Plates
Authorized After January 1, 1999), unless it is created at TxDOT's
initiative. 

(b) Authorizes any person to sponsor a new specialty plate by submitting
an application.  Authorizes the application to nominate a state agency to
receive funds generated by the new specialty plate and identify uses to
which the funds should be appropriated. 

(c) Requires TxDOT to design each new specialty plate in consultation with
the sponsor, if any, that applied for creation of that specialty plate.
Requires the plate design be the exclusive property of TxDOT.  Authorizes
TxDOT to refuse to create  a new specialty plate under certain
circumstances. 

(d) Requires the TxDOT to issue specialty plates created under this
section to a person who meets certain criteria. 

(e) Requires the first $15,000 collected as fees for a new specialty plate
to be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund to reimburse TxDOT
for its initial costs in producing each specialty plate.  Requires, after
the first $15,000, that a Texas Transportation Commission-determined (TTC)
amount of the fees collected for a new specialty plate be deposited into
the state highway fund to cover TxDOT's incremental costs and the
remainder be deposited to one of a number of funds. 

(f) Provides that Chapter 316D, Government Code (Appropriation of
Unobligated Fund Balances to General Revenue Fund), and Section 403.095,
Government  Code (Use of Dedicated Revenue), do not apply to fees
collected under this section. 

(g) Authorizes TxDOT to report certain information to the legislature at
any time concerning implementation of this section. 

(h) Authorizes TxDOT to license a trademark for inclusion within the
design of the plates and pay a fee for the trademark license, if a sponsor
did not name a state agency to receive the funds or if there is no
sponsor. 

(i)  Authorizes the owner of the vehicle for which the plates were issued
to obtain replacement plates from TxDOT, if the plates are lost, stolen,
or mutilated, by paying the fee prescribed by Section 502.184(a)(2),
Transportation Code (Replacement of Lost, Stolen, or Mutilated License
Plate or Registration Insignia). Requires the owner of the vehicle to
return the specialty plates to TxDOT upon disposal of the vehicle during
the registration year. 

(i) [Proposed text includes two Subsections designated as (i).] Requires
TTC to adopt rules and TxDOT to issue forms to implement this section. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: January 1, 2004.