| (a) A county tax assessor-collector, with the approval
of the commissioners court of the county, may deputize a person to
act as a full service deputy in the same manner and with the same
authority as though done in the office of the county tax assessor-collector,
subject to the criteria and limitations of this section, including
signing the addendum as specified in subsection (k) of this section.
(b) A full service deputy must offer and provide titling
and registration services to the general public, and must accept any
application for registration, registration renewal, or title transfer
that the county tax assessor-collector would accept and process, unless
otherwise limited by the county.
(c) The county tax assessor-collector may impose reasonable
obligations or requirements upon a full service deputy in addition
to those set forth in this section.
(d) To be eligible to serve as a full service deputy,
a person must be trained, as approved by the county tax assessor-collector,
to perform motor vehicle titling, registration, and registration renewal
services, or otherwise be deemed competent by the county tax assessor-collector
to perform such services.
(e) To be eligible to serve as a full service deputy,
a person must post a bond payable to the county tax assessor-collector
consistent with §217.167 of this title (relating to Bonding Requirements)
with the bond conditioned on the person's proper accounting and remittance
of the fees the person collects.
(f) A person applying to be a full service deputy must
complete the application process as specified by the county tax assessor-collector.
The application process may include satisfaction of any bonding requirements
and completion of any additional required documentation or training
of the deputy before the processing of any title, registration, or
registration renewal applications may occur.
(g) A full service deputy must provide the physical
address at which services will be offered, the mailing address, the
phone number, and the hours of service. This information may be published
on the department's website and may be published by the county if
the county publishes a list of deputy locations.
(h) A full service deputy shall keep a separate accounting
of the fees collected and remitted to the county and a record of daily
receipts.
(i) A full service deputy may charge or retain fees
consistent with the provisions of §217.168 of this title (relating
to Deputy Fee Amounts).
(j) A full service deputy must maintain records in
compliance with the State of Texas Records Retention Schedule as promulgated
by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
(k) Beginning January 1, 2017, a full service deputy
must sign an addendum provided by the department outlining the terms
and conditions of the full service deputy's access to and use of the
department's registration and titling system. Any contract or agreement,
or renewal of the contract or agreement, between the county and the
full service deputy that authorizes the full service deputy to provide
registration and titling services in the county must specifically
incorporate the addendum by reference, and the contract or agreement
may not supersede or contradict any term within the addendum. An addendum
described by this subsection is required for each location at which
the full service deputy operates. The addendum must be incorporated
into any agreement or contract between the full service deputy and
the county beginning January 1, 2017. The county must provide the
department a current copy of each contract or agreement, including
any amendments, with a full service deputy within 60 days of execution.
|
