HBA-MPA C.S.H.B. 2539 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2539
By: Davis, Yvonne
Transportation
4/8/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)




BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the law does not provide vehicle converters with access to
special temporary license plates that allow them to drive new, untitled and
unregistered vehicles on Texas roads.  C.S.H.B. 2539 allows converters to
obtain special temporary plates necessary to drive newly converted vehicles
to facilities that add equipment and to new car dealerships for warranty
repairs. 

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 C, Chapter 503, Transportation Code, by
adding Section 503.0625, as follows: 

Sec. 503.0625.  CONVERTER'S TEMPORARY CARDBOARD TAGS.  (a) Defines
"converter." 

(b) Authorizes a converter to issue a temporary cardboard tag for use on an
unregistered vehicle by the converter or an employee only to: demonstrate
to a prospective buyer who is a dealer  the vehicle; or convey from one of
the converter's places of business (business) to another within this state;
from the business to a place the vehicle is to be repaired, reconditioned,
modified, or serviced; from the state line or a location in this state
where the vehicle is unloaded to the business; from the business to a place
of business of a dealer; or to road test the vehicle. 

(c) Provides that a converter is not prohibited from letting a prospective
buyer who is a dealer operate the vehicle. 

(d) Provides that a vehicle being conveyed under this section is exempt
from the inspection requirements of Chapter 548 (Compulsory Inspection of
Vehicles). 

(e) Prohibits the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)  from issuing
or contracting for the issuance of a converter temporary cardboard tag, but
requires TxDOT to prescribe the specification, form, and color of a
converter temporary cardboard tag. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2539 differs from the original bill in SECTION 1 in proposed
Section 503.0625(b)(2)(B), Transportation Code, by adding the word
"modified" to a list of operations that can be performed  on a vehicle in a
place to which it may be conveyed using a temporary cardboard tag.  The
substitute specifies in  Subsections (b) and (c) that a prospective buyer
who is a dealer may operate a vehicle with a temporary tag for a
demonstration, deleting the phrase "for sale purposes only" from Subsection
(b).  Deletes proposed Subsection (f) of the original bill, prohibiting the
converter or an employee from using a converter's temporary cardboard tag
for personal use.