BILL ANALYSIS
By: Murphy
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Today, most companies either register their token trailers for one year at a time or they find a way to register their trailers out-of-state. If they register the trailers in the state, a sticker is issued to be placed on the plate to show the registration has been paid for that year. Many companies have a difficult time keeping up with the locations of their trailers. These trailers in many instances are not parked at the company facilities on any type of schedule. Some are on rail cars, some are in Mexico, some are parked/spotted at shippers facilities, while others are traveling around in any of the 48 lower States. To obtain this annual sticker and to place a specific sticker on a specific trailer plate can be extremely burdensome. It also encourages companies to register their trailers in other states, such as Oklahoma, that currently allow non-sticker registration resulting in a loss of revenue to the Highway Trust Fund.
In addition, the annual stickers are subject to being stolen. All a thief has to do is heat up the back of the license plate and peel the sticker off. This requires the company owning the trailer to go down to the county tax office and purchase a “lost or stolen” registration sticker. Again, this becomes a burden because the company may have to make several of these types of trips a year.
This legislation amends provisions of the Transportation Code pertaining to the registration of semi trailers with token fees. This change will allow an owner or lessee of token trailers to register these trailers for five years at a time provided the appropriate fees are paid in advance. By choosing this method of registration, the company can eliminate dealing with annual stickers on their token trailers.
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
SECTION 1. Section 502.167(j), Transportation Code, is amended by removing restrictive language requiring companies having 50 or more trailers to be eligible to purchase a five year semi-trailer plate.
SECTION 2. Effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The Committee Substitute sets a time limit of five years to the registration validity of the trailers by the owner or lessee; it specifies that a person must provide proof of their eligibility to register a vehicle as required by Texas Department of Transportation, and it specifies the fees to be paid in advance for the registration.