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.