BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3589

By: Wilson

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that individuals who have received a Purple Heart from the Department of Public Safety or another law enforcement agency in Texas deserve additional recognition. H.B. 3589 seeks to provide for the issuance of a specialty license plate and certain other privileges for these Purple Heart recipients.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

H.B. 3589 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialty license plates for recipients of a Purple Heart awarded by the Department of Public Safety or another law enforcement agency in Texas. The bill sets a fee of $3 for issuance of one set of the license plates and requires a person issued such specialty license plates to be issued one set of the license plates without payment of the required vehicle registration fee. The bill includes a vehicle registered with such plates among the vehicles for which the discount program of a toll project entity is required to include free or discounted use of the entity's toll project and among the vehicles exempt from the payment of a parking fee collected through a parking meter charged by a governmental authority other than a branch of the federal government when being operated by or for the transportation of the person who registered the vehicle.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.