H.B. No. 1225
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to registration and insurance requirements for a former
1-3 military vehicle.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 5a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the
1-6 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a,
1-7 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections
1-8 (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
1-9 (a) Passenger cars, trucks, and motorcycles that are
1-10 twenty-five (25) or more years old and former military vehicles<,>
1-11 shall be excepted from the annual license fee for registration
1-12 otherwise provided by law upon written, sworn application by the
1-13 owner thereof on a form furnished by the Department. Such
1-14 application for a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle shall show
1-15 the make, body style, motor number, and age of the vehicle. An
1-16 application for a former military vehicle shall include the
1-17 vehicle's year of manufacture and a description of the vehicle
1-18 containing information required by the Department. Each
1-19 application shall include <, and> any other information required by
1-20 the Department, and shall also state that the vehicle is a
1-21 collector's item and will be used solely for exhibitions, club
1-22 activities, parades, and other functions of public interest, and in
1-23 no case for regular transportation, and will carry no advertising.
1-24 (b) The Department shall issue license plates which shall
2-1 contain the words "Antique Auto," "Antique Truck," or "Antique
2-2 Motorcycle" and which are valid for a maximum period of five (5)
2-3 years. Alternatively, the Department may allow antique license
2-4 plates to be used on an antique vehicle if the owner of the vehicle
2-5 presents the antique license plates to the Department for approval
2-6 and the antique license plates were issued by this state in the
2-7 same year as the model year of the vehicle. If antique license
2-8 plates are used on a vehicle, the Department shall issue to the
2-9 owner a symbol, valid for a maximum period of five (5) years, to be
2-10 placed on one of the license plates, as determined by the
2-11 Department, designating the year in which the vehicle was
2-12 registered under this section. A former military vehicle operated
2-13 on a public highway is not required to display license plates or
2-14 any symbol, tab, or other device indicating registration of the
2-15 vehicle if proof of current registration for the vehicle, in the
2-16 form prescribed by the Department, is carried in the vehicle and
2-17 the vehicle displays in a prominent location on the vehicle a
2-18 registration mark prescribed by the Department. The Department
2-19 shall allow use of a unique identification mark similar to the mark
2-20 assigned that vehicle by the armed force in which the vehicle was
2-21 used. If such a mark is not used, the Department shall designate a
2-22 registration mark consisting of numbers, letters, or numbers and
2-23 letters in combination, at least two inches in height. To the
2-24 extent possible, the location and design of the registration mark
2-25 under this subsection must conform to the vehicle's official
2-26 military design and markings.
2-27 (d) On application and payment of the proper fee to the
3-1 County Tax Assessor-Collector of the county in which the owner
3-2 resides, the Department shall furnish such license plates or a
3-3 symbol, if applicable, and receipts which shall be issued to the
3-4 owner. Any required <and such> plates or symbol shall be valid
3-5 without renewal for the period for which the vehicle is registered,
3-6 provided such vehicle continues to be owned by the same owner.
3-7 (h) In this section, "former military vehicle" means a
3-8 vehicle that:
3-9 (1) has been, but no longer is, used by the armed
3-10 forces of a national government; and
3-11 (2) displays markings indicating it was a military
3-12 vehicle.
3-13 SECTION 2. The Certificate of Title Act (Article 6687-1,
3-14 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Section 29A to
3-15 read as follows:
3-16 Sec. 29A. Notwithstanding any other law, a certificate of
3-17 title shall be issued for a former military vehicle, as defined by
3-18 Section 5a(h), Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
3-19 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's
3-20 Texas Civil Statutes), regardless of whether the vehicle is
3-21 registered under the laws of this state, if the requirements for
3-22 issuance of a certificate of title, other than the registration
3-23 requirement, are satisfied.
3-24 SECTION 3. Section 140(h), Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
3-25 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
3-26 to read as follows:
3-27 (h) The provisions of this article <Act> shall not apply to
4-1 the vehicles referred to in Subsection (a) of this Section when
4-2 moving under or bearing current "Factory-Delivery License Plates"
4-3 or current "In-transit License Plates." Nor shall the provisions
4-4 of this article <Act> apply to farm machinery, road-building
4-5 equipment, farm trailers, paper dealer in-transit tag, machinery
4-6 license, disaster license, parade license, prorate tabs, one-trip
4-7 permits, antique license, temporary 24-hour permits, permit
4-8 license, and all other vehicles required to have a
4-9 slow-moving-vehicle emblem under Section 139B <139(b)> of this Act,
4-10 or to former military vehicles, as defined by Section 5a(h),
4-11 Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called
4-12 Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
4-13 SECTION 4. Subsection (b-2), Section 1A, Texas Motor Vehicle
4-14 Safety-Responsibility Act (Article 6701h, Vernon's Texas Civil
4-15 Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-16 (b-2) A motor vehicle that is 25 or more years old or a
4-17 former military vehicle, as defined by Section 5a(h), Chapter 88,
4-18 General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
4-19 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is exempt
4-20 from the requirement of Subsection (a) of this section if:
4-21 (1) the vehicle is used only for exhibitions, club
4-22 activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and
4-23 will not be used for regular transportation; and
4-24 (2) the owner of the vehicle files with the Department
4-25 a sworn affidavit, signed by the owner, stating that the vehicle is
4-26 a collector's item and will be used solely for the purposes listed
4-27 in Subdivision (1) of this subsection.
5-1 SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
5-2 5a, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd
5-3 Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil
5-4 Statutes), apply only to a vehicle registration period beginning on
5-5 or after the effective date of this Act.
5-6 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-7 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
5-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.