HBA-NRS S.B. 391 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 391 By: Wentworth Public Safety 4/5/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) enforces compulsory motor vehicle inspections for the state. The management of vehicle data for the inspection system is done manually, which can be both time consuming and labor intensive for DPS and the various inspection stations. Senate Bill 391 requires DPS to automate the data collection process for a compulsory motor vehicle inspection system and authorizes DPS to charge a fee for the purpose of funding automation. 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. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 391 amends the Transportation Code to require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop and administer procedures to automate the compulsory motor vehicle inspection system and its compliance and enforcement. The bill authorizes DPS, as a condition of certifying a person as an inspection station, to require the applicant to participate in the automated inspection system. The bill provides that the automated inspection system must include asymmetric cryptosystem security protection or a digital signature for each inspector who accesses the system and must assure compliance with and enforcement of the system through technology that provides current data using a remote process and that can be read using existing or new technologies. The bill defines "asymmetric cryptosystem" to mean a computer-based system that uses two different but mathematically related keys or passwords, one of which encrypts a given message and the other of which decrypts that message, and is designed so that if one key or password is known, it is computationally infeasible to determine the other. The bill defines "digital signature" to mean an electronic identifier intended by the person using it to have the same force and effect as the use of a manual signature. The bill authorizes DPS, as a condition of certifying a person as an inspector, to require the applicant to agree that the person's asymmetric cryptosystem password or key or the person's digital signature is equivalent to the person's written signature, and to agree that the person is legally responsible for any inspection performed under the person's asymmetric cryptosystem password or key or under the person's digital signature. The bill provides that the use of asymmetric cryptosystem security protection is subject to the criminal laws pertaining to fraud and computer crimes. The bill authorizes DPS to enter into one or more contracts with another person to implement the automation of inspection procedures. If DPS enters into a contract for the implementation of the automated inspection system, the bill prohibits the contractor from disclosing to any person, data that is related to the automated inspection system and collected by the contractor. S. B. 391 authorizes DPS to impose a fee not to exceed $1.25, to be reduced by 50 cents to 75 cents on September 1, 2005, for each safety inspection certificate sold to an inspection station to provide funding for the automated inspection system. The bill authorizes an inspection station to impose a fee, in addition to certain other fees, not to exceed the amount of any fee previously imposed for each inspection. The bill requires DPS to deposit fees collected under the automated inspection system to the credit of the automated inspection system account in the general revenue fund, which may be appropriated only to DPS for the development, testing, implementation, and administration of the automated inspection system. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.