| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to certain criminal offenses involving the attachment or |
|
|
display of a wrong license plate or registration insignia; |
|
|
increasing criminal penalties. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 504.944, Transportation Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 504.944. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH WRONG LICENSE |
|
|
PLATE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person operates, or |
|
|
as the owner permits another to operate, on a public highway a motor |
|
|
vehicle that has attached to it a number plate or registration |
|
|
insignia issued for a different vehicle. |
|
|
(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor |
|
|
punishable by a fine not to exceed $200, except that the offense is |
|
|
a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 if it is shown |
|
|
at the trial of the offense that, at the time of the offense, the |
|
|
person knows that the license plate or registration insignia is |
|
|
stolen or otherwise issued for a different motor vehicle. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 504.945, Transportation Code, is amended |
|
|
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (d-1), (e), and (f), |
|
|
an offense under Subsection (a) is a misdemeanor punishable by a |
|
|
fine of not more than $200, unless it is shown at the trial of the |
|
|
offense that the owner knowingly altered or made illegible the |
|
|
letters, numbers, and other identification marks, in which case the |
|
|
offense is a Class B misdemeanor. |
|
|
(d-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a misdemeanor |
|
|
punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 if it is shown at the trial |
|
|
of the offense that, at the time of the offense, the person knows |
|
|
that the license plate is stolen or otherwise issued for a different |
|
|
motor vehicle. |
|
|
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 on the date 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |