BILL ANALYSIS
Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, a specialty license plate exists for commemorating Gold Star Mothers. A Gold Star Mother is a mother of a soldier who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Other members of Gold Star families do not have a specialty license plate.
CSHB 3857 creates a specialty license plate for Gold Star Members. The Gold Star Member license plate will honor immediate family members of service members who died while serving in the armed forces.
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 3857 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation to issue a specialty license plate for the family member of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces. License plates issued under this section must include the words "Gold Star Family Member" and a gold star. A person may not be issued more than one set of the license plates at a time. The bill defines "family member" as the surviving spouse, parent, stepparent, foster parent, child, stepchild or sibling of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces. Section 504.702(b)(3) does not apply to a specialty plate issued under this section.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The committee substitute, prepared by the legislative council, amends Chapter 504, Transportation Code, by adding Section 504.4081, whereas the original bill added Section 504.658, Transportation Code. It includes an updated definition of "family member" from the originally drafted bill.
The committee substitute also outlines that the Gold Star Family Member license plate will be exempt from the $15,000 threshold requirement in Section 504.702 of the Transportation Code.