TITLE: Relating to license plates and license plate windshield insignia issued for and displayed on a vehicle; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense.

SUMMARY: Relating to license plates and license plate windshield insignia issued for and displayed on a vehicle; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to license plates and license plate windshield insignia issued for and displayed on a vehicle; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 504.010, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (a) On payment of the prescribed fee, an applicant for motor vehicle registration shall be issued a license plate or set of plates,provided that the department must issue a set of two plates to an applicant for registration of a passenger car or light truck.(d) Rules adopted under Subsection (c) must: (1) authorize a passenger car or light truck to display only a rear license plate if the motor vehicle is not equipped by the manufacturer with an exterior front feature to which a license plate may be fastened without drilling through the exterior of the vehicle; and (2) require a vehicle that displays only a rear license plate under Subdivision (1) to display a license plate windshield insignia. SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 504, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 504.011 to read as follows: Sec. 504.011. ISSUANCE AND PLACEMENT OF LICENSE PLATE WINDSHIELD INSIGNIA. (a) The department shall issue a license plate windshield insignia to an applicant for registration of a passenger car or light truck if: (1) the applicant: (A) applies for the license plate windshield insignia in the form and manner prescribed by the department; and (B) pays the prescribed fee for the license plate windshield insignia; and (2) the passenger car or light truck is not equipped by the manufacturer with an exterior front feature to which a license plate may be fastened without drilling through the exterior of the vehicle. (b) The department by rule may: (1) prescribe the manner and form of an application for a license plate windshield insignia; (2) establish a reasonable fee for a license plate windshield insignia in an amount necessary to cover the costs of administering this section; and (3) determine the information and documentation required to demonstrate eligibility for a license plate windshield insignia. (c) The department by rule shall prescribe the form of the license plate windshield insignia and the manner in which the license plate windshield insignia must be displayed. Rules adopted under this subsection must require that a license plate windshield insignia issued under this section: (1) show the same information that is required to be shown on the license plate issued for the vehicle; and (2) be displayed in the interior of the vehicle's front windshield. (d) The operator of a passenger car or light truck that displays a license plate windshield insignia issued under this section and only a rear license plate shall: (1) have in the operator's possession while operating the vehicle the unmounted license plate issued for the vehicle under Section 504.010(a); and (2) at the request of a peace officer, produce for inspection the unmounted license plate issued for the vehicle under Section 504.010(a). SECTION 3. The heading to Section 504.943, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 504.943. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITHOUT REQUIRED LICENSE PLATE OR LICENSE PLATE WINDSHIELD INSIGNIA.SECTION 4. Section 504.943, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (a-1), (d-1), and (f) to read as follows: (a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway, during a registration period, a [motor] vehicle that does not display all [two] license plates and any license plate windshield insignia required by this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter to be displayed on the vehicle that: (1) have been assigned by the department for the period; and (2) comply with department rules regarding the placement of license plates and license plate windshield insignia.(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person operates on a public highway a passenger car or light truck that displays a license plate windshield insignia and only a rear license plate and: (1) the unmounted license plate issued for the vehicle under Section 504.010(a) is not in the person's possession; or (2) the person fails to produce for inspection, on the request of a peace officer, the unmounted license plate issued for the vehicle under Section 504.010(a). (d) A court may dismiss a charge brought under Subsection (a) [(a)(1)] if the defendant: (1) remedies the defect before the defendant's first court appearance; and (2) pays a reimbursement fee not to exceed $10. (d-1) A court may dismiss a charge brought under Subsection (a-1) if the defendant: (1) produces in court the unmounted license plate issued for the vehicle under Section 504.010(a); and (2) pays a reimbursement fee not to exceed $10. (f) A peace officer may not stop a motor vehicle or detain the operator of a motor vehicle solely to enforce Subsection (a-1) if the vehicle displays a license plate windshield insignia that: (1) has been assigned by the department for the registration period; and (2) complies with department rules regarding the placement of the license plate windshield insignia. SECTION 5. Section 504.943(b), Transportation Code, is repealed. SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.