PURPOSE
To raise awareness of an issue concerning the provisions of HB 89, enacted by the 76^th Texas Legislature, relating to delinquent registration of a motor vehicle. Inadvertently, we may be losing substantial county and state revenue by not verifying the reasons for delinquent registration.

DETAILS
HB 89 amended Section 502.176 of the Transportation Code by allowing the County Tax Assessor-Collector to determine if the vehicle has been operated since the registration and grace period have expired. Based on the determination, the vehicle would be registered and fees collected as follows:

• If not operated - 12 months registration is due from current date.
• If operated - 12 months registration is due from the month of expiration.
• If ticketed for operation with expired registration - 12 months registration fee is due, plus a penalty of 20%, and the month of expiration remains the same.

However, clerks may be automatically registering all delinquent vehicles for 12 months from the current date. This allows individuals who have operated their vehicles to avoid paying state/county fees due for the prior months. Non-collection of penalties and establishing new registration months reduces revenue to both the county and the state. Counties lose approximately 33¢ for every registration dollar waived in this situation. Using $60 as an annual registration fee ($5 per month) you can see how quickly this lost revenue can add up over the course of a year for every month a vehicle is operated but fees are not paid.

COUNTY ACTION
Please remind your staff that if a registration has expired an effort should be made to determine if the vehicle has been operated. We recommend that the clerk specifically ask the customer if they have driven the vehicle within the delinquent period and process the registration based on the answer.

CONTACT
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact your local Vehicle Titles and Registration Division Regional Office. You may also call Mike Craig, Deputy Director, or me at (512) 465-7570. Thank you very much.

In some cases the Registration and Title Bulletins (RTB) contain attachments. If you require a copy of the original signed RTB and the attachments, please email your request with the RTB number to VTR Info Request/Open Records. Repeat requests are subject to charges in accordance with Open Record policies. A subscription service is also available for an annual fee of $250. Subscribers will automatically receive all RTB mailings as they are issued.