Bill Text: TX HB2806 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Engrossed

---

Bill Title: Relating to the marketing, hosting, and sale of specialty and personalized license plates.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-04-27 - Referred to Transportation & Homeland Sec. [HB2806 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB2806-Engrossed.html

---

82R16711 JAM-F
By: Phillips H.B. No. 2806

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the marketing, hosting, and sale of specialty and
personalized license plates.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 504.003(c) and (c-1), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) If a souvenir license plate issued before November 19
[September 1], 2009, is personalized, the fee for the plate is
$40. Of the fee:
(1) $20 shall be deposited to the credit of the state
highway fund;
(2) $10 shall be deposited to the credit of the
designated account if the souvenir license plate is a replica of a
specialty license plate issued under Subchapter G or I for which the
fee is deposited to a designated account other than the state
highway fund; and
(3) the remainder shall be deposited to the credit of
the general revenue fund.
(c-1) The fee for a souvenir license plate issued on or
after November 19 [September 1], 2009, is the amount established
under Section 504.851(c).
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 504, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 504.101 to read as follows:
Sec. 504.101. PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES. The department
shall issue personalized license plates, including those sold by
the private vendor under a contract with the department as provided
by Section 504.851.
SECTION 3. Section 504.6011, Transportation Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a) The sponsor of a specialty license plate [authorized to
be issued under this subchapter before September 1, 2009,] may
contract with the private vendor authorized under Subchapter J for
the marketing and sale of the specialty license plate.
(d) A sponsor of a specialty license plate authorized to be
issued under this subchapter before November 19, 2009, may
reestablish its specialty license plate under Sections 504.601 and
504.702 and be credited its previous deposit with the department if
a contract entered into by the sponsor under Subsection (a)
terminates.
SECTION 4. Section 504.614, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) A public entity that receives money under Subsection
(b) may contract with the private vendor under Section 504.6011 to
distribute the entity's portion of the money in a manner other than
that described by Subsection (b).
SECTION 5. Sections 504.801(d) and (d-1), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) The fee for issuance of license plates created under
this subchapter before November 19 [September 1], 2009, is $30
unless the department sets a higher fee. This subsection does not
apply to a specialty license plate marketed and sold by a private
vendor at the request of the specialty license plate sponsor.
(d-1) The fee for issuance of license plates created under
this subchapter on or after November 19 [September 1], 2009, is the
amount established under Section 504.851.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 504.802, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 504.802. MARKETING AND SALE BY PRIVATE VENDOR OF
SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATES [CREATED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1, 2009].
SECTION 7. Section 504.802, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a) A sponsor of a specialty license plate created under
this subchapter [before September 1, 2009,] may contract with the
private vendor authorized under Subchapter J for the marketing and
sale of the specialty license plate.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, from each fee received
from the issuance of a specialty license plate marketed and sold by
the private vendor under this section, the department shall:
(1) deduct the administrative costs described by
Section 504.801(e)(1);
(2) deposit the portion of the fee for the sale of the
plate that the state would ordinarily receive under the contract
described by Section 504.851(a) to the credit of:
(A) the specialty license plate fund, if the
sponsor nominated a state agency to receive the funds; [or]
(B) the general revenue fund, if the sponsor did
not nominate a state agency to receive the funds or if there is no
sponsor; or
(C) for a license plate issued under Section
504.614, the public entity that provides or provided funds for the
professional sports team's facility; and
(3) pay to the private vendor the remainder of the fee.
(d) A sponsor of a specialty license plate may reestablish
its specialty license plate under Sections 504.601 and 504.702 and
be credited its previous deposit with the department if a contract
entered into by the sponsor under Subsection (a) terminates.
SECTION 8. Section 504.851, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a-2), (c), (e), (f), and (h), and adding
Subsections (a-3) and (m) to read as follows:
(a-2) Specialty license plates authorized for marketing and
sale under Subsection (a) may be personalized and must include:
(1) specialty license plates created under
Subchapters G and I on or after November 19 [September 1], 2009; and
(2) at the request of the specialty license plate
sponsor, an existing specialty license plate created under
Subchapters G and I before November 19 [September 1], 2009.
(a-3) The department may contract with the private vendor
for the vendor to:
(1) host all or some of the specialty license plates on
the vendor's website;
(2) process the purchase of specialty license plates
hosted on the vendor's website and pay any additional transaction
cost; and
(3) share in the personalization fee for the license
plates hosted on the vendor's website.
(c) The board by rule shall establish the fees for the
issuance or renewal of souvenir license plates, specialty license
plates, or souvenir or specialty license plates that are
personalized that are marketed and sold by the private vendor or
hosted on the private vendor's website. The state's portion of the
personalization fee may not be less than $40 for each year issued.
Other fees [Fees] must be reasonable and not less than the amounts
necessary to allow the department to recover all reasonable costs
to the department associated with the evaluation of the competitive
sealed proposals received by the department and with the
implementation and enforcement of the contract, including direct,
indirect, and administrative costs. A fee established under this
subsection is in addition to:
(1) the registration fee and any optional registration
fee prescribed by this chapter for the vehicle for which specialty
license plates are issued;
(2) any additional fee prescribed by this subchapter
for the issuance of specialty license plates for that vehicle; and
(3) any additional fee prescribed by this subchapter
for the issuance of personalized license plates for that vehicle.
(e) The portion of a contract with a private vendor
regarding the marketing and sale of personalized license plates is
payable only from amounts derived from the collection of the fee
established under Subsection (b). The portion of a contract with a
private vendor regarding the marketing, hosting, and sale of
souvenir license plates, specialty license plates, or souvenir or
specialty license plates that are personalized under Section
504.102 is payable only from amounts derived from the collection of
the fee established under Subsection (c).
(f) The department may approve new design and color
combinations for personalized or specialty license plates that are
marketed and sold by a private vendor under a contract entered into
with the private vendor. Each approved license plate design and
color combination remains the property of the department.
(h) Subject to the limitations provided by Subsections (g)
and (g-1), the department may disapprove a design, cancel a license
plate, or require the discontinuation of a license plate design or
color combination that is marketed, hosted, or [and] sold by a
private vendor under contract at any time if the department
determines that the disapproval, cancellation, or discontinuation
is in the best interest of this state or the motoring public.
(m) If the private vendor ceases operation:
(1) the program may be operated temporarily by the
department under new agreements with the license plate sponsors
until another vendor is selected and begins operation; and
(2) the private vendor's share of the revenue is
deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
SECTION 9. The heading to Section 504.853, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 504.853. SPECIALTY AND PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES
ISSUED BEFORE NOVEMBER 19 [SEPTEMBER 1], 2009.
SECTION 10. Sections 504.853(a), (b), (c), and (e),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A specialty or personalized license plate issued before
November 19 [September 1], 2009, may be issued for a subsequent
registration period only if the applicant submits an application
and pays the required fee for the applicable registration period. A
person who is issued a personalized license plate has first
priority on that license plate for each subsequent registration
period for which the person submits a new application for that
plate.
(b) Unless the board by rule adopts a higher fee or the
license plate is not renewed annually, the [The] fee for issuance of
a [personalized] license plate issued before November 19 [September
1], 2009, is:
(1) the fee provided for in Section 504.601 for a
specialty license plate; and
(2) $40 for a personalized license plate[, unless the
director adopts by rule a higher fee].
(c) A person who is issued a specialty or personalized
license plate by the department before November 19 [September 1],
2009, may:
(1) submit an application for the plate under
Subsection (a) and pay the required fee for each subsequent
registration period under Subsection (b); or
(2) purchase through the private vendor a license to
display the alphanumeric pattern on a license plate for any term
allowed by law.
(e) Of each fee collected by the department under Subsection
(b)(2) [this section]:
(1) $1.25 shall be used by the department to defray the
cost of administering this section; and
(2) the remainder shall be deposited to the credit of
the general revenue fund.
SECTION 11. Sections 504.854(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The board by rule [private vendor] may provide for the
private vendor to:
(1) sell at auction a license to display a unique
alphanumeric pattern on a license plate for a period set by board
rule;
(2) reserve an unissued alphanumeric pattern from the
department for purposes of auctioning a license to display the
pattern for a period set by board rule; and
(3) purchase from a customer an unexpired license to
display an alphanumeric pattern for purposes of auction by the
vendor.
(b) A [Only a] license to display an alphanumeric pattern
purchased under this section [or a license to display an
alphanumeric pattern sold by the private vendor under Section
504.853] may be transferred to another person without payment of
the fee provided by Section 504.855. [The transferee is entitled to
the same rights and privileges as the transferor.]
SECTION 12. Subchapter J, Chapter 504, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 504.855 to read as follows:
Sec. 504.855. TRANSFERABILITY OF CERTAIN PATTERNS. The
board by rule may:
(1) authorize a person who purchases a license to
display an alphanumeric pattern for a period of five years or more
to transfer the license; and
(2) establish a transfer fee to be distributed in
accordance with the contract with the private vendor.
SECTION 13. The following provisions of the Transportation
Code are repealed:
(1) Section 504.851(k); and
(2) Section 504.854(c).
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.