Bill Text: TX HB2195 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to wrong, fictitious, altered, or obscured license plates; increasing a criminal penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB2195 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2195-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 2195

AN ACT
relating to wrong, fictitious, altered, or obscured license plates;
increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 504.945, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person attaches to or
displays on a motor vehicle a license plate that:
(1) is issued for a different motor vehicle;
(2) is issued for the vehicle under any other motor
vehicle law other than by the department;
(3) is assigned for a registration period other than
the registration period in effect;
(4) is fictitious;
(5) has blurring or reflective matter that
significantly impairs the readability of the name of the state in
which the vehicle is registered or the letters or numbers of the
license plate number at any time;
(6) has an attached illuminated device or sticker,
decal, emblem, or other insignia that is not authorized by law and
that interferes with the readability of the letters or numbers of
the license plate number or the name of the state in which the
vehicle is registered; or
(7) has a coating, covering, protective substance, or
other material that:
(A) distorts angular visibility or
detectability;
(B) alters or obscures one-half or more of the
name of the state in which the vehicle is registered; or
(C) alters, covers, or obscures the letters or
numbers of the license plate number or the color of the plate.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (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.
(f) An offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C) is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than $300, except that the offense
is:
(1) a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than
$600 if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has
been previously convicted of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C);
or
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial
of the offense that the person has been previously convicted two or
more times of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(C).
SECTION 2. Section 548.051(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or
mobile home, registered in this state, must have the following
items inspected at an inspection station or by an inspector:
(1) tires;
(2) wheel assembly;
(3) safety guards or flaps, if required by Section
547.606;
(4) brake system, including power brake unit;
(5) steering system, including power steering;
(6) lighting equipment;
(7) horns and warning devices;
(8) mirrors;
(9) windshield wipers;
(10) sunscreening devices, unless the vehicle is
exempt from sunscreen device restrictions under Section 547.613;
(11) front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt
anchorages were part of the manufacturer's original equipment;
(12) exhaust system;
(13) exhaust emission system;
(14) fuel tank cap, using pressurized testing
equipment approved by department rule; [and]
(15) emissions control equipment as designated by
department rule; and
(16) for purposes of Section 548.104(d)(3), each
license plate required to be displayed on the vehicle.
SECTION 3. Section 548.104(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) An inspection station or inspector may not issue a
passing vehicle inspection report for a vehicle equipped with:
(1) a sunscreening device prohibited by Section
547.613, except that the department by rule shall provide
procedures for issuance of a passing vehicle inspection report for
a vehicle exempt under Section 547.613(c); [or]
(2) a compressed natural gas container unless the
owner demonstrates in accordance with department rules proof:
(A) that:
(i) the container has met the inspection
requirements under 49 C.F.R. Section 571.304; and
(ii) the manufacturer's recommended service
life for the container, as stated on the container label required by
49 C.F.R. Section 571.304, has not expired; or
(B) that the vehicle is a fleet vehicle for which
the fleet operator employs a technician certified to inspect the
container; or
(3) a license plate prohibited by Section 504.945.
SECTION 4. The change in law made 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 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 was
committed before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2195 was passed by the House on April
27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2195 was passed by the Senate on May
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor