This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
By: Ogden S.B. No. 345
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to offenses involving motor vehicle windshield and window
sunscreening devices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (c), Section 547.613,
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) a windshield that has a sunscreening device that:
(A) in combination with the windshield has a
light transmission of 25 [33] percent or more;
(B) in combination with the windshield has a
luminous reflectance of 25 [35] percent or less;
(C) is not red, blue, or amber; and
(D) does not extend downward beyond the AS-1 line
or more than five inches from the top of the windshield, whichever
is closer to the top of the windshield;
(2) a [front side] wing vent or a window other than a
windshield if the vent or window[, a side window to the rear of the
vehicle operator, or a rear window that] has a sunscreening device
that in combination with the vent or window has:
(A) a light transmission of 25 [35] percent or
more; and
(B) a luminous reflectance of 25 [35] percent or
less;
(3) a rear window, if the motor vehicle is equipped
with an outside mirror on each side of the vehicle that reflects to
the vehicle operator a view of the highway for a distance of at
least 200 feet from the rear;
(4) a rearview mirror;
(5) an adjustable nontransparent sun visor that is
mounted in front of a side window and not attached to the glass;
(6) a direction, destination, or termination sign on a
passenger common carrier motor vehicle, if the sign does not
interfere with the vehicle operator's view of approaching traffic;
(7) a rear window wiper motor;
(8) a rear trunk lid handle or hinge;
(9) a luggage rack attached to the rear trunk;
(10) a side window that is to the rear of the vehicle
operator on a multipurpose vehicle;
(11) a window that has a United States, state, or local
certificate placed on or attached to it as required by law;
(12) a motor vehicle that is not registered in this
state;
(13) a window that complies with federal standards for
window materials, including a factory-tinted or a pretinted window
installed by the vehicle manufacturer, or a replacement window
meeting the specifications required by the vehicle manufacturer [a
motor vehicle with a manufacturer's model year before 1988];
(14) a vehicle that is:
(A) used regularly to transport passengers for a
fee; and
(B) authorized to operate under license or permit
by a local authority; or
(15) a vehicle that is maintained by a law enforcement
agency and used for law enforcement purposes.
(c) A manufacturer shall certify to the department that the
sunscreening device made or assembled by the manufacturer complies
with the light transmission and luminous reflectance
specifications established by Subsection (b) for sunscreening
devices in combination with a window.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.