| (a) Purpose. To promote and encourage the fullest possible
use of the highway system and contribute to the economic development
and growth of the State of Texas and its residents, the department
is authorized by Transportation Code, §502.091 to enter into
agreements with duly authorized officials of other jurisdictions,
including any state of the United States, the District of Columbia,
a foreign country, a state or province of a foreign country, or a
territory or possession of either the United States or of a foreign
country, and to provide for the registration of vehicles by Texas
residents and nonresidents on an allocation or distance apportionment
basis, and to grant exemptions from the payment of registration fees
by nonresidents if the grants are reciprocal to Texas residents.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Cab card--The apportioned vehicle registration
receipt that contains, but is not limited to, the vehicle description
and the registered weight at which the vehicle may operate in each
jurisdiction.
(2) Department--The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
(3) Director--The director of the Motor Carrier Division,
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
(4) Executive director--The chief executive officer
of the department.
(5) Regional Service Center--A department office which
provides specific services to the public, including replacement titles,
bonded title notices of determination, and apportioned registration
under the International Registration Plan (IRP).
(6) Temporary cab card--A temporary registration authorized
by the department that allows the operation of a vehicle for 30 days
subject to all rights and privileges afforded to a vehicle displaying
apportioned registration.
(c) Multilateral agreements.
(1) Authority. The executive director may on behalf
of the department enter into a multilateral agreement with the duly
authorized officials of two or more other jurisdictions to carry out
the purpose of this section.
(2) International Registration Plan.
(A) Applicability. The IRP is a registration reciprocity
agreement among states of the United States and other jurisdictions
providing for payment of registration fees on the basis of fleet distance
operated in various jurisdictions. Its purpose is to promote and encourage
the fullest possible use of the highway system by authorizing apportioned
registration for commercial motor vehicles and payment of appropriate
vehicle registration fees and thus contributing to the economic development
and growth of the member jurisdictions.
(B) Adoption. The department adopts by reference the
January 1, 2024, version of the IRP. The department also adopts by
reference the January 1, 2016, version of the IRP Audit Procedures
Manual. In the event of a conflict between this section and the IRP
or the IRP Audit Procedures Manual, the IRP and the IRP Audit Procedures
Manual control. Copies of the documents are available online at www.irponline.org
or on request to the department.
(C) Application.
(i) An applicant must submit an application to the
department on a form prescribed by the director, along with additional
documentation as required by the director. An applicant shall provide
the department with a copy of the applicant's receipt under the Unified
Carrier Registration System Plan and Agreement under 49 U.S.C. §14504a
(UCR) to prove the applicant is currently registered under UCR if
the applicant is required to register under UCR.
(ii) Upon approval of the application, the department
will compute the appropriate registration fees and notify the registrant.
(D) Fees. Upon receipt of the applicable fees in the
form as provided by §209.23 of this title (relating to Methods
of Payment), the department will issue one or two license plates and
a cab card for each vehicle registered.
(E) Display of License Plates and Cab Cards.
(i) The department will issue one license plate for
a tractor, truck-tractor, trailer, and semitrailer. The license plate
issued to a tractor or a truck-tractor shall be installed on the front
of the tractor or truck-tractor, and the license plate issued for
a trailer or semitrailer shall be installed on the rear of the trailer
or semitrailer.
(ii) The department will issue two license plates for
all other vehicles that are eligible to receive license plates under
the IRP. Once the department issues two license plates for a vehicle
listed in this clause, one plate shall be installed on the front of
the vehicle, and one plate shall be installed on the rear of the vehicle.
(iii) The cab card shall be carried at all times in
the vehicle in accordance with the IRP. If the registrant chooses
to display an electronic image of the cab card on a wireless communication
device or other electronic device, such display does not constitute
consent for a peace officer, or any other person, to access the contents
of the device other than the electronic image of the cab card.
(iv) The authority to display an electronic image of
the cab card on a wireless communication device or other electronic
device does not prevent the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings
or a court of competent jurisdiction from requiring the registrant
to provide a paper copy of the cab card in connection with a hearing,
trial, or discovery proceeding.
(F) Audit. An audit of the registrant's vehicle operational
records may be conducted by the department according to the IRP provisions
and the IRP Audit Procedures Manual. Upon request, the registrant
shall provide the operational records of each vehicle for audit in
unit number order, in sequence by date, and including, but not limited
to, a summary of distance traveled by each individual vehicle on a
monthly, quarterly, and annual basis with distance totaled separately
for each jurisdiction in which the vehicle traveled.
(G) Assessment. The department may assess additional
registration fees of up to 100% of the apportionable fees paid by
the registrant for the registration of its fleet in the registration
year to which the records pertain, as authorized by the IRP, if an
audit conducted under subparagraph (F) of this paragraph reveals that:
(i) the operational records indicate that the vehicle
did not generate interstate distance in two or more member jurisdictions
for the distance reporting period supporting the application being
audited, plus the six-month period immediately following that distance
reporting period;
(ii) the registrant failed to provide complete operational
records; or
(iii) the distance must be adjusted, and the adjustment
results in a shortage of registration fees due Texas or any other
IRP jurisdiction.
(H) Refunds. If an audit conducted under subparagraph
(F) of this paragraph reveals an overpayment of fees to Texas or any
other IRP jurisdiction, the department will refund the overpayment
of registration fees in accordance with Transportation Code, §502.195
and the IRP. Any registration fees refunded to a carrier for another
jurisdiction will be deducted from registration fees collected and
transmitted to that jurisdiction.
(I) Cancellation or revocation. The director or the
director's designee may cancel or revoke a registrant's apportioned
registration and all privileges provided by the IRP as authorized
by the following:
(i) the IRP; or
(ii) Transportation Code, Chapter 502.
(J) Procedures for assessment, cancellation, or revocation.
(i) Notice. If a registrant is assessed additional
registration fees, as provided in subparagraph (G) of this paragraph,
and the additional fees are not paid by the due date provided in the
notice or it is determined that a registrant's apportioned license
plates and privileges should be canceled or revoked, as provided in
subparagraph (I) of this paragraph, the director or the director's
designee will mail a notice by certified mail to the last known address
of the registrant. The notice will state the facts underlying the
assessment, cancellation, or revocation; the effective date of the
assessment, cancellation, or revocation; and the right of the registrant
to request a conference as provided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.
(ii) Conference. A registrant may request a conference
upon receipt of a notice issued as provided by clause (i) of this
subparagraph. The request must be made in writing to the director
or the director's designee within 30 days of the date of the notice.
If timely requested, the conference will be scheduled and conducted
by the director or the director's designee at division headquarters
in Austin and will serve to abate the assessment, cancellation, or
revocation unless and until that assessment, cancellation, or revocation
is affirmed or disaffirmed by the director or the director's designee.
In the event matters are resolved in the registrant's favor, the director
or the director's designee will mail the registrant Cont'd... |
