The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles adopts amendments to 43 TAC §§217.2, 217.45, and 217.46, concerning the definitions of moped, off-highway vehicle, sand rail, and utility vehicle or UTV; unregistered off-highway vehicle license plates and the fee for the license plates; and disabled veteran and other license plates for custom vehicles, street rods and certain exhibition vehicles. The department adopts amendments to §§217.2, 217.45, and 217.46 without changes to the proposed text as published in the August 30, 2019, issue of the Texas Register (44 TexReg 4667). These rules will not be republished.

REASONED JUSTIFICATION. The amendments to §§217.2, 217.45, and 217.46, are necessary to implement House Bill (HB) 1548 86th Legislature, Regular Session (2019); HB 1755, 86th Legislature, Regular Session (2019); HB 3068, 86th Legislature, Regular Session (2019); and HB 3171, 86th Legislature, Regular Session (2019).

The amendments to §217.2 are necessary to implement HB 1548, HB 1755, and HB 3171. House Bill 1548 transferred Transportation Code Chapter 663, Subchapters A and B, to new Transportation Code Chapter 551A. House Bill 1548 amended the definition of "motor vehicle" in Transportation Code §501.002 by adding a reference to "off-highway vehicle" as defined by Transportation Code §551A.001 and eliminating the references to "all-terrain vehicle" and "recreational off-highway vehicle." Transportation Code §551A.001 as added by HB 1548 defines "off-highway vehicle" as an all-terrain vehicle, recreational off-highway vehicle, or utility vehicle.

House Bill 1755 amended Transportation Code §663.001 to add a definition of "sand rail," and also amended the Transportation Code §663.001 definition of "off-highway vehicle" to include the term sand rail. The HB 1755 definition of sand rail and the amended definition of off-highway vehicle were also transferred by HB 1548 to Transportation Code §551A.001. As a result of HB 1548 and HB 1755, an off-highway vehicle under Transportation Code §551A.001 is defined as an all-terrain vehicle, recreational off-highway vehicle, utility vehicle, or sand rail.

In addition, HB 3171 amended the Transportation Code §541.201 definition of "moped" to state that a moped is a motor vehicle.

Because of the described statutory changes in HB 1548, HB 1755, and HB 3171, the amendments to §217.2 make necessary updates to statutory references in the definitions of "all-terrain vehicle" and "recreational off-highway vehicle," and add new definitions of "off-highway vehicle," "utility vehicle," and "sand rail" by reference to the definitions in Transportation Code §551A.001. In addition, the phrase "a motor vehicle as defined by" is added to the definitions of moped, off-highway vehicle, sand rail, and utility vehicle or UTV, under amended §217.2(14), (18), (22), and (25), for consistency with existing definitions of "all-terrain vehicle or ATV" and "recreational off-highway vehicle or ROV" and because the statutory definition of "motor vehicle" under Transportation Code §501.002, as amended, includes a moped and an off-highway vehicle. The definition of utility vehicle or UTV also references definition of "golf cart," which HB 1548 moved from Transportation Code §502.001 to Transportation Code §551.401. Amendments to §217.2 also renumber the paragraphs.

The amendments to §217.45 are necessary to implement HB 1548 and HB 3068. House Bill 1548 requires the department to establish, by rule, a procedure for issuance of license plates to golf carts and unregistered off-highway vehicles, and authorizes the department to charge a fee of up to $10 to cover the costs of issuing the plates. The phrase "off-highway vehicle" is defined in Transportation Code §551A.001, under HB 1548 as discussed in this adoption.

House Bill 3068 provides, in part, that a person who qualifies for a disabled veteran license plate under Transportation Code §504.202 may use an embossed Texas disabled veteran license plate on a classic motor vehicle, custom vehicle, street rod, and on certain exhibition vehicles as defined by Transportation Code §504.501 and §504.502. The embossed disabled veteran license plate must have been issued in the same year as the model year of the vehicle and be approved for use by the department. House Bill 3068 also provides that any person may use a Texas license plate that is embossed with an alphanumeric pattern of a plate design that was issued the same year as the model year of the vehicle for vehicles that meet the requirements of the same two sections (Transportation Code §504.501 and §504.502).

The amendments to §217.45 make necessary updates to implement HB 1548. The amendment to §217.45(a) adds a reference to new Transportation Code Chapter 551A as added by HB 1548.

The amendment to §217.45(c)(3)(B) adds the phrase "off-highway vehicle," because Transportation Code §551A.052 authorizes the department to establish a procedure to issue license plates to unregistered off-highway vehicles by rule. In addition, Transportation Code §551A.052(b) allows a person to operate an unregistered off-highway vehicle on a highway in a manner authorized by Transportation Code Chapter 551A, Subchapter D, only if the vehicle displays a license plate issued under Transportation Code §551A.052. The existing requirement in §217.27(b) that a vehicle display two license plates is applicable to vehicles registered under Transportation Code Chapter 502.

The amendment to §217.45(c)(7)(E) adds the phrase "off-highway vehicle," because license plates for off-highway vehicles are authorized by Transportation Code Chapter 551. Personalized license plates are authorized by Transportation Code §504.0051 and §504.101. As such, license plates for off-highway vehicles are not eligible for personalization.

The amendment to §217.45(c)(7)(E) adds the phrase "off-highway vehicle," because under Transportation Code §551A.052(d), off-highway vehicle license plates are only authorized for off-highway vehicles, do not expire, and may not be used by a subsequent owner of an off-highway vehicle. In addition, license plates are only eligible for transfer if the vehicle is a passenger vehicle with a gross weight of 6,000 pounds or less or a light truck with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less. Passenger vehicles and light trucks are defined in Transportation Code §502.001 by reference to Transportation Code §541.201.

The amendments to §217.45 also add new §217.45(k) to establish the process by which a county tax assessor-collector may issue an off-highway vehicle license plate and sets the fee for an off-highway vehicle license plate. The fee for an off-highway license plate is $10, which is the same fee charged for a license plate for a golf cart under existing §217.45(j). This fee is appropriate because the standard cost for the department to produce a license plate is $8. However, this cost does not include programming and the cost of the receipt. Setting the fee at $10 will account for all costs associated with issuance of the plate.

The amendments to §217.45 make necessary updates to implement HB 3068. The amendment to §217.45(c)(2)(A)(ii) creates an exception that will allow the use of disabled veteran embossed license plates on classic motor vehicles, custom vehicles, street rods, and certain exhibition vehicles by a disabled veteran as authorized in Transportation Code §504.202.

The amendment to §217.46 is necessary to implement HB 3171, which amended the definition of "commercial motor vehicle" in Transportation Code §502.001(7) to exclude "moped." The amendment to §217.46(a) adds a reference to moped for consistency with Transportation Code §502.001(7) as amended by House Bill 3171.

Additionally, the department adopts nonsubstantive changes throughout the text of §§217.2, 217.45, and 217.46. These nonsubstantive changes include reformatting and updating citations.

In conjunction with amending these rules, the department is also reconfiguring its internal systems. Therefore, the effective dates of the rules may be extended to correspond with completion of the programming necessary to fully implement the rules.

SUMMARY OF COMMENTS.

No comments on the amendments were received.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY. The department adopts amendments to §217.2 under Transportation Code §§501.0041, 502.0021, 504.0011 and 1002.001.

Transportation Code §501.0041 authorizes the department to adopt rules to administer Chapter 501.

Transportation Code §502.0021 authorizes the department to adopt rules to administer Chapter 502.

Transportation Code §504.0011 authorizes the board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt rules to implement and administer Chapter 504.

Transportation Code §1002.001 authorizes the board to adopt rules that are necessary and appropriate to implement the powers and the duties of the department.

CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE. Transportation Code §§501.002, 502.001, 542.201, 551.401, and 551A.001.