By: Hancock, Bettencourt, West  S.B. No. 876
         (In the Senate - Filed March 1, 2021; March 11, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Business & Commerce;
  April 6, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 1; April 6, 2021,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 876 By:  Hancock
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the county in which a person may apply for the
  registration of and title for a motor vehicle.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 501.023(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The owner of a motor vehicle must present identification
  and apply for a title as prescribed by the department, unless
  otherwise exempted by law.  To obtain a title, the owner must
  apply:
               (1)  to the county assessor-collector in the county in
  which:
                     (A)  the owner is domiciled; or
                     (B)  the motor vehicle is purchased or encumbered;
  or
               (2)  to any [the] county assessor-collector [of a
  county] who is willing to accept the application [if the county
  assessor-collector's office of the county in which the owner
  resides is closed or may be closed for a protracted period of time
  as defined by the department].
         SECTION 2.  Section 501.0234(d), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A seller who applies for the registration or a title for
  a motor vehicle under Subsection (a)(1) may [shall] apply:
               (1)  to the county assessor-collector of the county in
  which:
                     (A)  the owner is domiciled; or
                     (B)  the motor vehicle is purchased or encumbered;
  or
               (2)  to any [in the] county assessor-collector who is
  willing to accept the application [as directed by the purchaser
  from the counties set forth in Section 501.023].
         SECTION 3.  Section 501.030(e), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (e)  Before a motor vehicle that is required to be registered
  in this state and that is brought into this state by a person other
  than a manufacturer or importer may be bargained, sold,
  transferred, or delivered with an intent to pass an interest in the
  vehicle or encumbered by a lien, the owner must apply for a title in
  a manner prescribed by the department to the county
  assessor-collector for the county in which the transaction is to
  take place or to any assessor-collector who is willing to accept the
  application.  The assessor-collector may not issue a title receipt
  unless the applicant delivers to the assessor-collector
  satisfactory evidence showing that the applicant is the owner of
  the vehicle and that the vehicle is free of any undisclosed liens.
         SECTION 4.  Section 502.0023(b), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A system of extended registration under this section
  must allow the owner of a commercial fleet to register[:
               [(1)]  an entire commercial fleet in the county of the
  owner's residence or principal place of business or in any county in
  which the county assessor-collector is willing to accept the
  registration[; or
               [(2)  the motor vehicles in a commercial fleet that are
  operated most regularly in the same county].
         SECTION 5.  Section 502.040(b), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The application must be accompanied by personal
  identification as determined by department rule and made in a
  manner prescribed by the department through:
               (1)  [through] the county assessor-collector of the
  county in which the owner resides; or
               (2)  any  [if the office of that assessor-collector is
  closed, or may be closed for a protracted period of time, as defined
  by department rule, through a] county assessor-collector who is
  willing to accept the application.
         SECTION 6.  Section 502.041(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding Section 502.040, the owner of a vehicle
  may concurrently apply for a title and for registration through the
  county assessor-collector of the county in which:
               (1)  the owner resides; [or]
               (2)  the vehicle is purchased or encumbered; or
               (3)  the county assessor-collector is willing to accept
  the application.
         SECTION 7.  Section 502.407(c), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
  at the time of the offense:
               (1)  the office of the county assessor-collector for
  the county in which the owner of the vehicle resided was closed for
  a protracted period of time in accordance with department rules 
  [Section 502.040(b)(2)]; and
               (2)  the vehicle's registration was expired for 30
  working days or less.
         SECTION 8.  The heading to Section 520.006, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 520.006.  COLLECTION OF FEES ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER
  ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR; COMPENSATION OF ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 520.006(a-1) and (b), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a-1)  A county assessor-collector collecting fees on behalf
  of another [a] county assessor-collector [whose office is closed or
  may be closed for a protracted period of time as defined by the
  department] for purposes of Section 501.023, 501.0234, 501.030,
  502.0023, [or] 502.040, or 502.041 shall collect all taxes, fees,
  and other revenue based on the vehicle owner's county of residence.
  The vehicle owner's county of residence shall be the recipient of
  all taxes, fees, and other revenue collected as a result of the
  transaction, except that the county processing the application may
  retain the portion of the title application fee under Section
  501.138 and the processing and handling fee under Section 502.1911
  that the tax assessor-collector is authorized to [may] retain [the
  commission for fees collected, but shall allocate the fees to the
  county that is closed or may be closed for a protracted period of
  time].
         (b)  A county assessor-collector who is compensated under
  this section for processing a transaction shall pay the entire
  expense of issuing registration receipts and license plates under
  Chapter 501 or 502 from the compensation allowed under this
  section.
         SECTION 10.  Section 521.144(c), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  A registration receipt issued by a [the] county
  assessor-collector in this state [of the county in which the new
  resident resides] is satisfactory evidence that a motor vehicle is
  registered under Chapter 502.
         SECTION 11.  The following provisions of the Transportation
  Code are repealed:
               (1)  Section 501.023(e); and
               (2)  Section 501.0234(e).
         SECTION 12.  Section 502.407(c), Transportation Code, as
  amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or
  after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
  the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
  the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was
  committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
  the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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