The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (department) adopts amendments to Subchapter A, §217.3, Motor Vehicle Titles, and Subchapter B, §217.22, Motor Vehicle Registration, both relating to Vehicle Titles and Registration. The amendments are adopted with changes to the proposed text as published in the November 23, 2012, issue of the Texas Register (37 TexReg 9337) and will be republished.

EXPLANATION OF ADOPTED AMENDMENTS

The adopted amendments are necessary to comply with the requirements of House Bill 2357, 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, which created Transportation Code, §520.004 requiring the department to establish standards for uniformity and service quality for the titling and registration of vehicles by the counties.

In response, the department formed a Standards Committee in conjunction with County Tax Assessor-Collectors (TACs). These rules implement the consensus of that committee as well as clarification of existing rule.

Section 217.3(g) clarifies that a TAC must hold county hearings for an interested person who has been refused a title, has a title revoked, or has a title suspended in accordance with Transportation Code, §501.052. Such a hearing may be appealed to a court with jurisdiction.

Section 217.3(j) is added to provide consistency in charging fees. The department and the county will charge the fees provided by statute or by rule.

Section 217.3(j)(1) is added to clarify the charges related to mechanics' liens. A county is required by Property Code, §70.006 to send out notice of liens, and may charge a $25 fee. This paragraph provides that the $25 is to be charged once per vehicle. If the mechanic needs to return with additional documentation in order for the county to process the notice, a second $25 will not be charged.

Section 217.3(j)(2) is added to clarify that there is no charge for issuance of a title receipt or a duplicate title receipt at the time of application.

In accordance with the Transportation Code, §502.045, §217.22(d)(5) is clarified to explain that if a person has been arrested or cited for operation of a vehicle without registration then the full annual registration fee will be collected without change to the registration month. The remaining changes to the subsection combine information for ease of reference but do not change the substance.

Section 217.22(d)(5)(E) is revised to include a non-substantive punctuation change.

Section 217.22(f) is added to provide proof of eligibility for farm plates. An application for farm plates must be accompanied by a copy of the applicant's Texas Agriculture or Timber Registration card issued by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The card must be current, be legible, contain a registration number, and be in the name of the person or dba in which the vehicle will be registered.

Section 217.22(n) is added to provide consistency in charging fees. The department and the county will charge the fees provided by statute or by rule. The subsection clarifies that the $2 fee for a duplicate registration receipt will be charged only if the receipt is printed for the customer.

COMMENTS

Comments were received from the Tax Assessor-Collectors (TACs) in the counties of Aransas, Brazoria, Cherokee, Hood, Midland, Montgomery, Randall, Refugio, Victoria, Wheeler, Wichita, and Young. Comments were also received from the Tax Assessor-Collector Association of Texas (TACA) and the DMV Standards Committee.

All commenters asked the department not to adopt the training standards for tax assessor-collectors and their staff.

RESPONSE

Proposed §217.3(j) and §217.22(n) would have required new county employees to complete five department introductory online modules within the first six months of hire and an additional five modules within the first year of hire. A new county TAC would have been required to complete the online county TAC training within the first year of election or appointment. The proposed rule allowed the county to substitute its own training. Since the rule was proposed, the department has learned that TACA plans to propose legislative changes to include a training program. At this time, the department removes the proposed §217.3(j) and §217.22(n) for further discussion and review with neither concurrence nor disagreement with comments or position.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

The amendments are adopted under Transportation Code, §1002.001, which provides the Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and Transportation Code, §§501.0041, 502.0021, and 520.003, which provide the Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles with the authority to establish rules for each respective chapter of the Transportation Code; more specifically, Transportation Code, §520.004, which authorizes the department to establish standards for uniformity and service quality for the registering and titling of motor vehicles.

CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE

Property Code, §70.006, and Transportation Code, §§501.024, 501.052, 501.132, 502.045, and 502.058.