Bill Text: TX SR672 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the first license plate issued by the State of Texas.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-04-25 - Reported enrolled [SR672 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SR672-Enrolled.html
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| WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the | ||
| first license plate issued by the State of Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Introduced in 1917, state-issued license plates | ||
| were originally made of sheet iron and featured embossed numbers | ||
| painted white on a dark blue background, with the abbreviation | ||
| "TEX" on the right-hand side; before that time, Texans were | ||
| responsible for obtaining their own license plates, which could | ||
| be either homemade or purchased from such places as saddle and | ||
| blacksmith shops; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The state prison system began manufacturing | ||
| license plates in 1935, and the Texas Department of Criminal | ||
| Justice estimates that by 2016, inmates had created some 650 | ||
| million plates; in 1965, the Texas Highway Department, now | ||
| known as the Texas Department of Transportation, started | ||
| offering personalized vanity plates to the public for an | ||
| additional fee; and | ||
| WHEREAS, As technology advanced through the decades, so | ||
| did the manufacture of Texas license plates; the Texas Department | ||
| of Transportation began producing digitally printed, | ||
| vinyl-covered aluminum plates in 2009, and three years later, the | ||
| Texas Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled the current | ||
| general-issue plate, which utilizes black type on a white | ||
| background and holographic security features; the Texas | ||
| Department of Motor Vehicles now offers 420 plate designs in | ||
| addition to the general scheme, including many that honor | ||
| military veterans; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Over the past century, as the automobile industry | ||
| has evolved to become a vital sector of the United States economy | ||
| and a dominant influence on both American society and the | ||
| national landscape, vehicle license plates have become a | ||
| ubiquitous, critical element of American life; their sale | ||
| generates revenue for a variety of state programs, and their role | ||
| as identifying markers provides essential aid to law enforcement | ||
| officers in the performance of their work; incidental to their | ||
| primary function, the plates now have a hold on the popular | ||
| consciousness and have become collector's items, a means of | ||
| personal expression, and even decorative features, notably in | ||
| countless roadside diners; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A humble, unobtrusive object, the license plate | ||
| serves a number of purposes, from the essential to the whimsical, | ||
| and it is indeed fitting that this milestone anniversary be | ||
| recognized; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th | ||
| Legislature, hereby commemorate the centennial of the first | ||
| state-issued license plate in the Lone Star State. | ||
| Nichols | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| President of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that the | ||
| above Resolution was adopted by | ||
| the Senate on April 25, 2017. | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
