BDRAG,
FYI, it looks like you upset someone in the legislature because they re-wrote the 2012 law just for you...
A Texas law passed on the frantic final day of the legislative session mistakenly omitted the $200 fine for driving a vehicle without license plates, possibly jeopardizing the enforcement of related laws including a ban on false, altered or obscured license plates.
The author of the bill, Rep. Joe Pickett, has asked the attorney general's office to determine whether the omission will be a problem when the new law takes effect Jan. 1.
House Bill 2357, approved in May, divided motor vehicle violations into individual chapters as part of an effort to reorganize and modernize much of the Texas Transportation Code. Each chapter included the penalty for violations, eliminating the need to hunt through the voluminous code for punishment information.
But the 234-page bill inadvertently dropped language setting a $200 fine from the chapter outlawing the operation of vehicles without license plates, Pickett said.
"It was just a very huge, detailed bill that we'd already rewritten three, four, five times," Pickett, D-El Paso, said Tuesday. "This wasn't a first draft. We made so many corrections and changes, we thought we caught everything."
Texas has required vehicles to have two license plates, displayed on the front and back, since 1934. The misdemeanor offense can bring a fine of up to $200, though drivers who quickly correct the problem can pay a $10 fee instead.
Pickett's letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott, written with help from lawyers with the Department of Motor Vehicles, argued that the $200 penalty can be implied by the way the law was written. In addition, Texas law does not require the penalty to be included when the offense is clearly explained, Pickett wrote.
Ruling otherwise on the license plate law, Pickett warned, would produce absurd, perhaps dangerous, results.
If there is no penalty, law officers could not properly enforce a statute designed to quickly identify vehicles engaged in possibly criminal activity, Pickett wrote.
License plates also allow officers to verify that vehicles have been properly registered, placing the enforcement of registration-related laws in doubt as well, he wrote.
Finally, the law's soon-to-be-created chapter on license plates includes other violations that also could be placed in doubt — including offenses related to antique-vehicle license plates and operating a vehicle with fake, altered or obscured plates, Pickett wrote.
Abbott's office has six months to issue opinions, which are meant to clarify points of law.
The new law, however, takes effect in less than two months, raising the possibility that it will have to be enforced for a time without the legal questions answered.
The revenue impact of losing the fine could not be determined Tuesday.
If a legislative fix is required, the next session doesn't begin until January 2013, though Gov. Rick Perry could call a special session if a correction is needed badly enough.
Despite his warnings to Abbott, however, Pickett downplayed potential problems in an interview Tuesday.
Driving without two license plates will remain illegal, he said, making it a poor strategy for anyone hoping to avoid detection while committing a crime.
"It doesn't matter if there's a fine or not, it's still illegal, and you'll still be pulled over," Pickett said. "If there are other issues going on, why would you want to bring attention to yourself?"
FYI, it looks like you upset someone in the legislature because they re-wrote the 2012 law just for you...
A Texas law passed on the frantic final day of the legislative session mistakenly omitted the $200 fine for driving a vehicle without license plates, possibly jeopardizing the enforcement of related laws including a ban on false, altered or obscured license plates.
The author of the bill, Rep. Joe Pickett, has asked the attorney general's office to determine whether the omission will be a problem when the new law takes effect Jan. 1.
House Bill 2357, approved in May, divided motor vehicle violations into individual chapters as part of an effort to reorganize and modernize much of the Texas Transportation Code. Each chapter included the penalty for violations, eliminating the need to hunt through the voluminous code for punishment information.
But the 234-page bill inadvertently dropped language setting a $200 fine from the chapter outlawing the operation of vehicles without license plates, Pickett said.
"It was just a very huge, detailed bill that we'd already rewritten three, four, five times," Pickett, D-El Paso, said Tuesday. "This wasn't a first draft. We made so many corrections and changes, we thought we caught everything."
Texas has required vehicles to have two license plates, displayed on the front and back, since 1934. The misdemeanor offense can bring a fine of up to $200, though drivers who quickly correct the problem can pay a $10 fee instead.
Pickett's letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott, written with help from lawyers with the Department of Motor Vehicles, argued that the $200 penalty can be implied by the way the law was written. In addition, Texas law does not require the penalty to be included when the offense is clearly explained, Pickett wrote.
Ruling otherwise on the license plate law, Pickett warned, would produce absurd, perhaps dangerous, results.
If there is no penalty, law officers could not properly enforce a statute designed to quickly identify vehicles engaged in possibly criminal activity, Pickett wrote.
License plates also allow officers to verify that vehicles have been properly registered, placing the enforcement of registration-related laws in doubt as well, he wrote.
Finally, the law's soon-to-be-created chapter on license plates includes other violations that also could be placed in doubt — including offenses related to antique-vehicle license plates and operating a vehicle with fake, altered or obscured plates, Pickett wrote.
Abbott's office has six months to issue opinions, which are meant to clarify points of law.
The new law, however, takes effect in less than two months, raising the possibility that it will have to be enforced for a time without the legal questions answered.
The revenue impact of losing the fine could not be determined Tuesday.
If a legislative fix is required, the next session doesn't begin until January 2013, though Gov. Rick Perry could call a special session if a correction is needed badly enough.
Despite his warnings to Abbott, however, Pickett downplayed potential problems in an interview Tuesday.
Driving without two license plates will remain illegal, he said, making it a poor strategy for anyone hoping to avoid detection while committing a crime.
"It doesn't matter if there's a fine or not, it's still illegal, and you'll still be pulled over," Pickett said. "If there are other issues going on, why would you want to bring attention to yourself?"
