BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1064

By: Alvarado

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In Texas, local governments with a fleet of motor vehicles must register their vehicles annually. Local governments with fleets of hundreds of motor vehicles find themselves performing renewals monthly throughout the calendar year. The annual acquisition and distribution of plates, stickers, and registration cards is time-consuming, costly, and creates operational deficiencies in local government. S.B. 1064 seeks to improve local governmental operations and help local governmental entities avoid potential service disruptions by providing a system for a registration period of up to eight years for certain county fleet vehicles.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1064 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) to develop and implement a system of registration to allow an owner of an exempt county fleet to register vehicles in the fleet for an extended registration period of not less than one year or more than eight years. The bill defines "exempt county fleet" as a group of two or more nonapportioned motor vehicles, semitrailers, or trailers exempt from the payment of registration fees that is owned by and used exclusively in the service of a county with a population of 3.3 million or more.

S.B. 1064 sets out requirements for the system relating to the number of years for registration and to the registration of the fleet in a county or directly with TxDMV. The bill subjects a vehicle, semitrailer, or trailer in the exempt county fleet to the same inspection requirements as vehicles without the extended registration periods. The bill requires TxDMV to adopt rules to implement the system of registration, including rules regarding the suspension of an exempt county fleet's registration and rules establishing a method to enforce inspection requirements for the exempt fleet vehicles.       

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.