By:  Kuempel                                                      H.B. No. 2917


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the collection and expenditure of county fees for child safety. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 502, Texas Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 502.173. OPTIONAL COUNTY FEE FOR CHILD SAFETY. (a) The commissioners court of a county that has a population of 75,000 or greater [than 1.3 million and in which a municipality with a population of more than one million is primarily located] may impose by order an additional fee of not less than 50 cents or more than $1.50 for registering a vehicle in the county. The commissioners court of [any other] a county that has a population of less than 75,000 may impose by order an additional fee of not more than $1.50 for registering a vehicle in the county. (b) A vehicle that may be registered under this chapter without payment of a registration fee may be registered in a county imposing a fee under this section without payment of the additional fee. (c) A fee imposed under this section may take effect only on January 1 of a year. The county must adopt the order and notify the department not later than September 10 of the year preceding the year in which the fee takes effect. (d) In counties with a population of 75,000 or greater, a fee imposed under this section may be reduced to not less than 50 cents or increased to not more than $1.50 for registering a vehicle in the county. A county may reduce or increase the fee only by: (1) amending the order imposing the fee; and (2) notifying the department not later than September 1 of the year preceding the year in which the reduction or increase takes effect. [(d)] (e) A fee imposed under this section may be removed. The removal may take effect only on January 1 of a year. A county may remove the fee only by: (1) rescinding the order imposing the fee; and (2) notifying the department not later than September 1 of the year preceding the year in which the removal takes effect. [(e)] (f) The county assessor-collector of a county imposing a fee under this section shall collect the additional fee for a vehicle when other fees imposed under this chapter are collected. [(f)] (g) A county imposing a fee under this section may deduct for administrative costs an amount of not more than 10 percent of the revenue it receives from the fee. The county may also deduct from the fee revenue an amount proportional to the percentage of county residents who live in unincorporated areas of the county. After making the deductions provided for by this subsection, the county shall send the remainder of the fee revenue to the municipalities in the county according to their population. [(g)] (h) A municipality with a population greater than 850,000 shall deposit revenue from a fee imposed under this subsection to the credit of the child safety trust fund created under Section 106.001, Local Government Code. A municipality with a population less than 850,000 shall use revenue from a fee imposed under this section in accordance with Subsection (f), Article 102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure. [(h)] (i) After deducting administrative costs, a county may use revenue from a fee imposed under this section only for a purpose permitted by Subsection (g), Article 102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.