78R4594 JRJ-D

By:  Hopson                                                       H.B. No. 737



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the issuance of Native Texan license plates to benefit 
the Texas Department of Public Safety.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 502.2737 to read as follows:
	Sec. 502.2737.  NATIVE TEXAN LICENSE PLATES.  (a)  The 
department shall issue specially designed "Native Texan" license 
plates for passenger cars, light trucks, and motorcycles.
	(b)  The license plates must include the words "Native Texan" 
and be designed by the department in consultation with the 
Department of Public Safety.
	(c)  The department shall issue license plates under this 
section to a person who:
		(1)  applies to the county assessor-collector of the 
county in which the person resides on a form provided by the 
department;
		(2)  provides a copy of a birth certificate proving 
birth in Texas; and
		(3)  pays an annual fee of $30, in addition to the fee 
prescribed by Section 502.160 or 502.161 and, if personalized 
prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the fee 
prescribed by Section 502.251.
	(d)  Of each fee collected under this section:                          
		(1)  $22 shall be deposited to the credit of the general 
revenue fund and used only to finance victims services provided by 
the Department of Public Safety; and
		(2)  $8 shall be deposited to the credit of the state 
highway fund to defray the cost of administering this section.
	(e)  If license plates issued under this section are lost, 
stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the license 
plates were issued may obtain replacement plates from the 
department by paying a replacement fee of $5.  If the owner of a 
vehicle registered under this section disposes of the vehicle 
during the registration year, the owner shall return the special 
license plates to the department.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.