BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 598

By: Jackson, Jim

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A number of states require a valid driver's license to register a vehicle.  To register a vehicle in Texas, a registration renewal notice, including certain other information if a renewal notice was not received, and proof of current liability insurance are presented to a county tax office or an approved substation.  C.S.H.B. 598 seeks to enable law enforcement officers to more readily identify an individual who is driving illegally by providing that a valid driver's license is required to register a vehicle in Texas. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 598 amends the Transportation Code to prohibit a county assessor-collector from registering a motor vehicle owned by an individual unless the owner provides proof that the owner holds a driver's license or a commercial driver's license that is valid at the time the application for registration is presented to the county assessor-collector.  The bill requires the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, by rule, to prescribe an acceptable form of proof that an applicant for motor vehicle registration holds a valid driver's license.  The bill establishes that a county assessor-collector is not liable to any person for refusing to register a motor vehicle because of the person's failure to submit proof that the person holds a currently valid driver's license or commercial driver's license.  The bill makes its provisions inapplicable to a vehicle owned by an individual 85 years of age or older, a vehicle owned by a person with a disability as defined by the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, a vehicle owned by a nonresident who holds a driver's license that is recognized by the state under a reciprocal relationship with another state or country, or a vehicle registered under provisions specifying the duty of a vehicle dealer on the sale of certain vehicles.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 598 contains a provision not in the original making its provisions inapplicable to a vehicle owned by a person with a disability as defined by the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and to a vehicle owned by a nonresident who holds a driver's license that is recognized by the state under a reciprocal relationship with another state or country.  The substitute differs from the original in nonsubstantive ways.