BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2220
	By: Bettencourt
	Finance
	4/3/2019
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

The Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) is an agency within the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles that is tasked with combating vehicle thefts and burglaries. ABPTA provides grants to local law enforcement agencies that often do not have sufficient resources, equipment, or personnel to take on vehicle theft and burglaries. In the 2018 fiscal year alone, ABTPA grants supported 239 highly trained and specialized law enforcement investigators in communities across Texas, supported the deployment of bait equipment 4,406 times, supported the deployment of license plate readers 2,803 times, and helped recover 1,786 vehicles. Interested parties contend that recent cuts to the program risk jeopardizing these kinds of efforts.

ABTPA is funded through a portion of a $2 per year fee on all motor vehicle insurance policies in the state. State law specifies that up to fifty percent of each fee may be appropriated to the authority. Last biennium, ABTPA funding was reduced as part of agency cuts, leaving may local law enforcement agencies with fewer tools and personnel to address the persistent problem of vehicle theft and burglary.

S.B. 2220 addresses this problem by guaranteeing that ABTPA receives at least one-third of the funds collected to support it.

As proposed, S.B. 2220 amends current law relating to fees collected by the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority.

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 Section 10, Article 4413(37), Revised Statutes, by adding Subsection (f) to require an amount equal to at least one-third of the fees collected under Subsection (b) (relating to a requirement of an insurer to pay a certain fee to the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority) in each biennium to be appropriated to the authority for the purposes of this article (Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority).

SECTION 2. Makes application of Section 10(f), Article 4413(37), Revised Statutes, as added by this Act, prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2019.