78R4473 MTB-F
By: Gutierrez H.B. No. 1996
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of share the road license plates.
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. SHARE THE ROAD LICENSE PLATES. (a) The
department shall issue specially designed license plates for
passenger cars and light trucks that include:
(1) the words "Share The Road"; and
(2) an image of a bicycle or a bicycle with a rider.
(b) The department shall design the license plates in
consultation with the Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund.
(c) The department shall issue license plates under this
section to a person who:
(1) applies to the assessor-collector of the county in
which the person resides on a form provided by the department; and
(2) pays an annual fee of $35, in addition to the fee
prescribed by Section 502.161 or 502.162, and if personalized
prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the fee
prescribed by Section 502.251.
(d) Of each fee collected under Subsection (c)(2):
(1) $8 shall be deposited to the credit of the state
highway fund to be used by the department only to defray the cost of
administering:
(A) this section; and
(B) any bicycle-related programs of the
department;
(2) $5 shall be deposited to the credit of an account
in the general revenue fund that may be appropriated only to the
Texas Education Agency to promote motorist awareness of bicyclists
in driver and traffic safety education; and
(3) $22 shall be deposited to the credit of the share
the road account in the state treasury to be used by the Texas
Education Agency to support the activities of a nonprofit
organization whose primary purpose is to promote bicyclist safety,
education, and access through:
(A) education and awareness programs; and
(B) training, workshops, educational materials,
and media events.
(e) Up to 25 percent of the amount in Subsection (d)(3) may
be used to support the activities of the nonprofit organization in
marketing and promoting the share the road concept and license
plates.
(f) The Texas Education Agency may establish reporting and
other mechanisms necessary to ensure that the money collected under
this section is spent for purposes for which it is dedicated.
(g) 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 license plates from the
department by paying a replacement fee of $5.
(h) 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.