BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1064
87R12023 TYPED	By: Alvarado
	Transportation
	3/29/2021
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Currently, city and county governments with a fleet of motor vehicles in Texas must register the vehicles annually. The annual acquisition and distribution of plates, stickers, and registration cards is time-consuming and costly. Local governmental entities with fleets of thousands of motor vehicles find themselves performing renewals monthly throughout the calendar year. For example, Harris County has approximately 4,800 vehicles that require inspections and registration on an annual basis. Each month, county staff registers about 400 vehicles, including 300 passenger vehicles and 100 trailers and large trucks. Each week, Harris County spends approximately 32 hours on renewals. This workload includes receiving renewal notices, emailing departments that vehicles need an inspection, tracking incoming inspections, printing registration stickers, logging received registration stickers, and distributing stickers. In total, this amounts to 1,664 hours a year spent on the inspection and registration process alone.

S.B. 1064 eliminates this inefficient process by providing a semi-permanent process that allows local governmental entities to purchase registration cards for an extended renewal period of three years. The bill will help Texas local government to enjoy greater operational efficiency and avoid potential service disruptions.

As proposed, S.B. 1064 amends current law relating to registration and inspection requirements for certain local government fleet vehicles.

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 502.0025, as follows:

Sec. 502.0025. EXTENDED REGISTRATION AND INSPECTION OF CERTAIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FLEET VEHICLES. (a) Authorizes a county or municipality in this state that owns and operates a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that is exempt from the payment of a registration fee under Section 502.453 (Government-Owned Vehicles; Public School Buses; Fire-Fighting Vehicles; County Marine Law Enforcement Vehicles; U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Vehicles), notwithstanding the annual registration requirements of Sections 502.044 (Registration Period) and 502.453 and the annual inspection requirement of Section 548.101 (General One-Year Inspection Period), to choose to register some or all of those vehicles under Chapter 502 (Registration of Vehicles), and provide for the inspection of those vehicles under Chapter 548 (Compulsory Inspection of Vehicles), for an extended registration and inspection period of three years.

(b) Requires that the county or municipality provide for the timely inspection of those vehicles before registration in accordance with Section 502.047 (Registration-Based Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Inspection Requirements).

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2021.