HBA-ALS, PDH H.B. 1045 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1045 By: Rangel Transportation 4/11/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there are adult literacy programs in place which may lack funding and support. H.B. 1045 provides for the raising of funds for such programs by issuing, for a fee, specially designed "Adult Literacy" license plates. This bill requires the collected fees and donations to be deposited into an adult literacy account and be used to make grants to fund adult literacy programs. 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 F, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, by adding Section 502.2662, as follows: Sec. 502.2662. ADULT LITERACY. (a) Requires the Department of Transportation (department) to issue specially designed "Adult Literacy" license plates for passenger cars and light trucks. (b) Requires the department to issue a license plate to a person who applies to the county assessor-collector where the person resides and pays the appropriate fee. (c) Requires the department to set an annual fee for license plates according to the fee schedule. Provides a fee schedule authorizing the department to charge an administration fee not to exceed $5 and an additional fee not to exceed $25 for each set of plates or an additional fee not to exceed $15 for each set of plates for a fleet of 50 or more vehicles. (d) Authorizes the administration fee collected to be used to defray the cost of administering this section. (e) Requires the department to deposit the additional fees collected for each set of license plates to the credit of an account in the general revenue fund to be known as the adult literacy account. Provides that money from the account may be used only to make grants under Section 29.2531, Education Code. Provides that the account is composed of money required to be deposited to the credit of the account under this subsection and donations made to the account. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Section 29.2531, as follows: Sec. 29.2531. ADULT LITERACY GRANTS. Requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to make grants from the money in the adult literacy account to fund adult literacy programs provided by public nonprofit agencies and community based organizations. Requires the TEA to determine standards that an adult literacy program must meet to be eligible for a grant, provide procedures for applying for a grant, and determine the recipient and amount of each grant. SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4.Emergency clause.