BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 890

By: Howard, Charlie

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

For many vehicle enthusiasts in Texas, building, maintaining, and enjoying their vehicles is a favorite pastime.  These vehicles are the same crowd pleasers that participate in exhibitions and as parade vehicles and whose owners regularly contribute to charities and civic events.  C.S.H.B. 890 intends to establish specialty license plates for custom vehicles and street rods and to exempt such vehicles from inspection. 

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.H.B. 890 amends the Transportation Code to add a custom vehicle or street rod to the vehicles for which the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) is required to issue specialty license plates. The bill requires the license plates to include the words "Custom Vehicle," or "Street Rod" or a similar designation, as appropriate. 

C.S.H.B. 890 defines "custom vehicle" to mean a vehicle that is at least 25 years old and of a model year after 1948 or manufactured to resemble a vehicle that is at least 25 years old and of a model year after 1948 and that has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from materials not original to the vehicle.  The bill defines "street rod" to mean a vehicle that was manufactured before 1949 or manufactured after 1948 to resemble a vehicle manufactured before 1949 and that has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from materials not original to the vehicle. 

C.S.H.B. 890 establishes that a custom vehicle or street rod eligible to receive the specialty license plates is not required to be equipped with a specific piece of equipment unless the specific piece of equipment was required by statute as a condition of sale during the year listed as the model year on the certificate of title.  The bill requires the owner, on initial registration of a custom vehicle or street rod, to provide proof, acceptable to TxDMV, that the custom vehicle or street rod passed a safety inspection approved by the department.  The bill requires TxDMV to create a safety inspection process for inspecting custom vehicles and street rods.  The bill makes a conforming change in provisions relating to vehicles that are excluded from the compulsory inspection of vehicles.   

C.S.H.B. 890, if TxDMV issues a certificate of title for a custom vehicle or street rod as those vehicles are defined in provisions relating to specialty license plates, requires the model year and make of the vehicle to be listed on the certificate of title and to be the model year and make that the body of the vehicle resembles and requires the certificate of title to include the word "replica."  The bill requires the owner of the vehicle to provide TxDMV with documentation identifying the model year and make that the body of the vehicle resembles. 

C.S.H.B. 890 exempts a vehicle with custom vehicle license plates or a vehicle with street rod license plates from vehicle inspection. The bill makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 890 differs from the original by requiring the model year and make of the vehicle to be listed on a certificate of title for a custom vehicle or street rod, whereas the original only  requires the model year of the vehicle to be included on the certificate of title. The substitute differs from the original by requiring the owner of the custom vehicle or street rod to provide the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) with documentation identifying the model year and make that the body of the vehicle resembles, whereas the original only requires documentation identifying the model year to be provided.

C.S.H.B. 890 differs from the original by amending statutory provisions relating to specialty license plates for classic motor vehicles and travel trailers to add provisions relating to specialty license plates for custom vehicles and street rods, whereas the original amends statutory provisions relating to specialty license plates for certain exhibition vehicles to add those provisions.

C.S.H.B. 890 omits a saving provision included in the original.  The substitute differs from the original in conforming and nonsubstantive ways.