BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 589

By: Carona

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the provisions of the Transportation Code relating to restrictions on windows require that at least 25 percent of light pass through a windshield.  The total percentage includes the light transmission of the original window and any changes due to tinting.  Law enforcement will give a person a citation of a Class C misdemeanor offense if light transmission through the person's vehicle windows is less than 25 percent.  By Department of Public Safety rule, however, a vehicle is authorized to pass a state vehicle inspection with 20 percent light transmission.  Therefore, a discrepancy exists in the law between what level of tint is an offense subject to law enforcement citation and what level of tint will not pass a state vehicle inspection.  Window tint that is too dark is a detriment to public safety if law enforcement officers cannot see into a vehicle.  Automobile windows that have been tinted are required to be labeled.  The labels, however, are not required to disclose whether the tint meets currently existing statutory standards for safety.

C.S.S.B. 589 requires that a vehicle equipment safety compliance label be placed on a windshield, side, or rear window stating that the light transmission is consistent with the appropriate provisions of the Transportation Code. The bill provides that a person in the business of placing or attaching transparent material that alters the color or reduces the light transmission to a windshield, side, or rear window of a motor vehicle commits a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 if the person places or attaches such material on the windshield or window and does not install the required label.

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

C.S.S.B. 589 amends the Transportation Code to require a sunscreening device, if the device is placed on or attached to the windshield or a side or rear window of a motor vehicle, to have a label that states that the light transmission of the device is consistent with requirements in the law that exempt a windshield or other window with a sunscreening device from an offense relating to restrictions on windows.  The bill specifies that the exemption for a wing vent or a window is for a wing vent or window that is to the left or right of the vehicle operator.  The bill adds an exemption for a side window that is to the rear of the vehicle operator.  The bill makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 if a person in the business of placing or attaching transparent material that alters color or reduces light transmission fails to install the required label between the transparent material and the windshield or side or rear window of the vehicle, as applicable.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 589 removes a provision in the original revising the light transmission requirement for a windshield or other window with a sunscreening device to be exempt from an offense relating to restrictions on windows.  The substitute adds provisions not in the original to clarify the exemption for a wing vent or window and to add an exemption for a side window that is to the rear of the vehicle operator.