78R13266 DWS-F


By:  Eiland                                                       H.B. No. 923

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 923:                                    

By:  Phillips                                                 C.S.H.B. No. 923



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to special license plates to aid the recovery, 
rehabilitation, and release of stranded marine mammals.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 502.3031 to read as follows:
	Sec. 502.3031.  MARINE MAMMAL RECOVERY LICENSE PLATES. (a)  
The department shall issue specially designed license plates for 
each type of vehicle subject to registration under this chapter to 
support the activities of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding 
Network.
	(b)  The license plates must bear one or more graphic images 
designed by the department in consultation with the Parks and 
Wildlife Department and the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.  
The department may vary the design according to the type of vehicle 
for which the license plates are issued.
	(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; and
		(2)  pays an annual fee of $30, in addition to any 
applicable fee prescribed by Subchapter D 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)  $8 shall be deposited to the credit of the state 
highway fund to defray the cost of administering this section;
		(2)  50 cents shall be deposited by the county 
treasurer of the county in which the applicant resides to the credit 
of the general fund of the county to pay the costs of administering 
this section; and
		(3)  the remainder shall be deposited to the credit of 
an account in the state treasury.  Money in the account may be used 
only by the Parks and Wildlife Department to support the activities 
of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network in the recovery, 
rehabilitation, and release of stranded marine mammals.  The Parks 
and Wildlife Department shall establish reporting and other 
mechanisms necessary to ensure that the money is spent for purposes 
for which it is dedicated.
	(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 the fee prescribed by Section 502.184(a)(2).
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.