Honorable Terry Canales, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB754 by Wu (Relating to an affirmative defense to the offense of operating a vehicle without displaying two license plates.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Transportation Code Section 504.943, relating to an offense for operation of a vehicle without a license plate, to authorize an affirmative defense to prosecution for failure to display a license plate at the front of a vehicle if the vehicle has certain equipment configurations specified by the bill.
Based on information provided by local toll project entities, this analysis assumes that authorization to operate a motor vehicle without displaying a front license plate may impair the effectiveness of video or other technology used by state entities as a method of collecting motor vehicle-based user fees, such as toll road charges. Any loss of revenue to the state that may result from this impairment is not anticipated to be significant.
Local Government Impact
According to the Cameron County, Central Texas, and Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authorities, the bill would negatively impact the ability to collect tolls. The Central Texas RMA estimates a negative impact to its revenue collections of $1.6 million per year if it did not have the ability to capture the image of a vehicle's front license plate.