BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1001
	By: Taylor, Larry
	Transportation
	6/13/2017
	Enrolled

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Under current law, trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,501 pounds or more require inspection for registration. As a result, boat trailers and campers are included in the inspection requirement. S.B. 1001 increases the GVWR inspection requirement from 4,500 to 7,500 pounds, meaning larger trailers would fall under the inspection criteria prescribed by statute, but smaller boat trailers and campers would fall below the requirement. This change mirrors other regulations, as police still have discretion to pull over anyone considered to be a threat to safety on the roadways due to a decrepit trailer. (Original Author�s / Sponsor�s Statement of Intent)

 

S.B. 1001 exempts trailers with a gross weight of less than 7,500 pounds from inspection requirements to bring statute into conformity with current regulations and common practice.

 

S.B. 1001 amends current law relating to vehicle safety inspections, including vehicles exempt from those inspections.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.012, as follows:

 

Sec. 502.012. NOTICE REGARDING WHETHER CERTAIN TRAILERS ARE SUBJECT TO INSPECTION. Requires the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) to include in each registration renewal notice for a vehicle that is a trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer a statement regarding whether the vehicle is subject to inspection under Chapter 548 (Compulsory Inspection of Vehicles).

 

SECTION 2. Amends Section 548.005, Transportation Code, as follows:

 

Sec. 548.005. New heading: INSPECTION ONLY BY CERTAIN INSPECTION STATIONS. Authorizes a compulsory inspection under this chapter to be made only by an inspection station, except that the Texas Department of Public Safety is authorized to:

 

(1) makes no changes to this subdivision;

 

(2) and (3) makes nonsubstantive changes; and

 

(4) authorize the acceptance in this state of a certificate of inspection and approval issued:

 

(A) by an inspector qualified under 49 C.F.R. Part 396 acting as an employee or authorized agent of the owner of a commercial fleet, as defined in Section 502.001 (Definitions); and

 

(B) to a motor vehicle or trailer that is part of the fleet and registered or in the process of being registered in this state.�

 

SECTION 3. Amends Section 548.052, Transportation Code, to increase the actual or registered gross weight of a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile home to which this chapter does not apply from 4,500 pounds or less to 7,500 pounds or less.

 

SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 548, Transportation Code, by adding Section 548.510, as follows:

 

Sec. 548.510. FEE FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES NOT SUBJECT TO INSPECTION; COLLECTION OF FEE DURING REGISTRATION. (a) Provides that a vehicle described by Section 548.052(3) (relating to providing that this chapter does not apply to a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile home having a certain actual or registered weight) that has an actual gross weight or registered gross weight of more than 4,500 pounds is subject to a fee in the amount of $7.50.

 

(b) Requires TxDMV or a county assessor-collector that registers a vehicle described by Subsection (a) to collect at the time of registration of the vehicle the prescribed fee. Requires TxDMV or the county assessor-collector, as applicable, to remit the fee to the Texas comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) and requires that each fee remitted to the comptroller be deposited in a certain manner.

 

(c) Provides that the fee collected under Subsection (a) is not a motor vehicle registration fee and the revenue collected from the fee is not required to be used for a purpose specified by Section 7-a (Revenues from Motor Vehicle Registration Fees and Taxes on Motor Fuels and Lubricants; Purposes for Which Used), Article VIII (Taxation and Revenue), Texas Constitution.�

 

SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 2017.