HBA-MPA H.B. 1743 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1743 By: Shields Transportation 4/29/1999 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a valid Texas registration is required to transfer a title for a vehicle titled in Texas. A Texas registration is a road use fee, required only of vehicles which will be operated on the public roads and streets of this state. Active duty service members of the U.S. military who are residents of Texas may maintain Texas title to the vehicles, even if the vehicles are shipped overseas. Once the vehicle arrives in another country, the service member is required to register the vehicle according to the provision of the status of forces agreement with the host nation. If, after registering the vehicle according to the status of forces agreement, the Texas resident desires to transfer title of the vehicle, the service member is required to obtain a current Texas registration. This amounts to a double road use fee -- once in Texas where the vehicle will not be operated and once in the country where it will be operated. Texas residents who are service members and serving overseas are penalized if they desire to transfer title vehicle which is titled in Texas but physically located overseas. This bill changes the provision of the Transportation Code which requires a vehicle of a Texas resident service member located and properly registered overseas to reregister merely to transfer title. H.B. 1743 authorizes a Texas resident service member who is stationed and has a Texas titled vehicle overseas to provide proof that the vehicle is currently registered in accordance with the status of forces agreement in lieu of obtaining a current registration in order to transfer title to the vehicle. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.0025, as follows: Sec. 502.0025. EFFECT OF CERTAIN MILITARY SERVICE ON REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT. (a) Provides that this section applies only to a motor vehicle that is owned by a person who: (1) is a resident of this state; (2) is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States; (3) is stationed in or has been assigned to another nation under military orders; and (4) has registered the vehicle or has been issued a license for the vehicle under the applicable status of forces agreement by the appropriate branch of the armed forces of the United States, or the nation in which the person is stationed or to which the person has been assigned. (b) Provides that, unless such registration or license is suspended, canceled, or revoked by this state as provided by law, Section 502.002 (Registration Required; General Rule) does not apply, and the registration or license issued by the armed forces or host nation remains valid and the motor vehicle may be operated under it for 90 days after the person returns to this state. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 520, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.0225, as follows: Sec. 502.0225. PERSONS ON ACTIVE DUTY IN ARMED FORCES OF UNITED STATES. (a) Provides that this section applies only to a used motor vehicle that is owned by a person who: (1) is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States; (2) is stationed in or has been assigned to another nation under military orders; and (3) has registered the vehicle or has been issued a license for the vehicle under the applicable status of forces agreement by the appropriate branch of the armed forces of the United States, or the nation in which the person is stationed or to which the person has been assigned. (b) Provides that the requirement in Section 520.021 (Current Registration Required) that a used vehicle be registered does not apply to a vehicle described in Subsection (a). Requires that the person selling, trading, or otherwise transferring a used motor vehicle described in Subsection (a) to deliver to the transferee, in lieu of the license receipt required by Section 520.022 (Delivery of Receipt and Title to Transferee; Penalty), a letter on official letterhead by the owner's unit commander attesting to the registration of the vehicle, or the registration receipt issued by the appropriate armed service or host nation. (c) Provides that a registration receipt by a host nation that is not written in the English language must be accompanied by a written translation of the registration receipt in English, and an affidavit, in English and signed by the person translating the registration receipt, attesting to the person's ability to translate it into English. SECTION 3. Amends Section 520.031(a), Transportation Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 5. Emergency clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Amendment #1 Amends proposed Section 502.0025(b), Transportation Code, to provide that, unless such registration or license is suspended, canceled, or revoked by this state as provided by law, Section 502.002 does not apply, and the registration or license issued by the armed forces or host nation remains valid and the motor vehicle may be operated under it for 90 days after the vehicle returns to this state.