Amend HB 3314 (Senate committee printing) as follows:
(1) Add the following SECTION to the bill, appropriately
numbered, and renumber subsequent SECTIONS accordingly:
SECTION ___. Section 502.185, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.185. REFUSAL TO REGISTER CERTAIN VEHICLES [VEHICLE
IN CERTAIN COUNTIES]. (a) A county may enter into a contract with
[assessor-collector or] the department under which the department
shall [may] refuse to register a motor vehicle if the
assessor-collector for that county notifies [or] the department
[receives information] that the owner of the vehicle owes the
county money for a fine, fee, or tax that is past due.
(b) The [A county may contract with the] department shall
refuse to register a motor vehicle if the department has received
from the assessor-collector for a county that has entered into a
contract with [to provide information to] the department [necessary
to make a determination] under Subsection (a) notice that the owner
of the vehicle owes the county money for a fine, fee, or tax that is
past due. To be valid, the notice must include:
(1) the name of the owner and the license number or
vehicle identification number of the vehicle;
(2) the amount of each fine, fee, or tax that is past
due;
(3) the name of the entity to which each fine, fee, or
tax is due; and
(4) the address of the office where payment of each
fine, fee, or tax can be made or sent and the telephone number for
that office.
(c) On receipt of notice that complies with Subsection (b),
the department shall notify the owner of the vehicle, in writing, of
the department's refusal under this section to register the
vehicle. The department shall include with the notice to the owner
a copy of the notice received from the county assessor-collector
under Subsection (b) or a statement that includes the information
listed in Subsections (b)(1)-(4). The notice must state that the
department will continue to refuse to register the vehicle until
the owner pays or otherwise discharges each fine, fee, or tax due
the county.
(d) A county assessor-collector who [that] has sent a notice
to the department [contract] under Subsection (b) shall notify the
department not later than the third business day after the date the
person [regarding a person for whom the county assessor-collector
or the department has refused to register a motor vehicle on]:
(1) makes [the person's] payment or other means of
discharge of the past due fine, fee, or tax; or
(2) perfects [perfection of] an appeal of the case
contesting payment of the fine, fee, or tax.
(e) [(d)] After notice is received under Subsection (d),
[(c), the county assessor-collector or] the department may not
refuse to register the motor vehicle under Subsection (b) [(a)].
(f) The department may enter into a [(e) A] contract with a
private vendor to implement this section [under Subsection (b) must
be entered into in accordance with Chapter 791, Government Code,
and is subject to the ability of the parties to provide or pay for
the services required under the contract].
(g) [(f)] A county that has entered into a contract under
Subsection (a) [(b)] may impose an additional fee on [to] a person
paying a fine, fee, or tax to the county after the date the county
assessor-collector sends notice to the department under Subsection
(b) [it is past due]. The amount of the additional fee must be
reasonable. Each additional fee collected by a county shall be sent
to the department for deposit to the credit of the state highway
fund and [may be] used only to reimburse the department for its
expenses for providing services under the contract.
(h) [(g)] In this section:
(1) a fine, fee, or tax is considered past due if it is
unpaid 90 or more days after the date it is due; and
(2) registration of a motor vehicle includes renewal
of the registration of the vehicle.
(i) [(h)] This section does not apply to the registration of
a motor vehicle under Section 501.0234.
(2) In SECTION 10 of the bill, the effective date provision
(on page 4, line 3), strike "This" and substitute "(a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b) of this section, this".
(3) At the end of SECTION 10 of the bill, the effective date
provision (on page 4, immediately below line 7), add the following:
(b) The SECTION of this Act that amends Section 502.185,
Transportation Code, takes effect September 1, 2010. An existing
contract entered into by a county and the Texas Department of
Transportation under Section 502.185, Transportation Code, as that
section existed immediately before September 1, 2010,
automatically terminates on that date.