BILL ANALYSIS
By: Krusee
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
HB 2971 enacted during the 78th Legislative Session enabled the Texas Department of Transportation to issue a souvenir version of any specialty license plate. HB 2971 states that the entire $20 fee required of persons wishing to purchase a souvenir license plate, and the entire $40 fee required of persons wishing to purchase a personalized souvenir license plate, be deposited into the state highway fund. However, language was inadvertently left out of the bill which would have allowed allow half of this fee to go to the specialized plate's non-profit sponsor. CSHB 1735 amends the existing statute to allow for $10 of this fee to be deposited to the accounts of these organizations.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
CSHB 1735 amends Section 504.003 of the Transportation Code to provide that $10 of the fees collected by the Texas Department on Transportation for each souvenir license plate will be instead deposited to the credit of the beneficiary organization of the license plate.
CSHB 1735 further amends Section 504.003 to add subsection (e), which allows for a beneficiary of a specialty license plate to purchase these license plates, in boxes of 25, for the amount of the normal fee minus the fee that would be deposited into the beneficiary's account.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The Substitute adds an immediate effect clause to the effective date.