- New Texas Law Will Combat Fraudulent License Tag Dealing . . . Effective 2025
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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New Texas Law Will Combat Fraudulent License Tag Dealing . . . Effective 2025
Houston Chronicle reports, “Texas will ditch the use of most paper tags for vehicles but take more than two years to transition away from the temporary tags that police say have been a bonanza for bogus dealers. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed HB 718 . . . that allows for car dealers to hold an allotment of metal plates and issue them when selling vehicles. Having dealers affix a metal plate to a vehicle eliminates the need for temporary paper tags, which usually adorn vehicles until the car or truck is registered and issued a permanent plate. . . .” Thanks to a Senate amendment, the bill gives the state DMV until December 1, 2024, to adopt relevant regulations, which means the law won’t take effect until July 1, 2025. “The temporary tags, especially prior to changes last year, made Texas a ‘laughingstock’ internationally. Fraudulent dealers could issue temporary tags, and criminals sold them online so people could skirt [tolls and] registration fees as well as safety and emission testing. As a result, at least 2.6 million fake Texas tags are estimated to have been sold across the globe. . . .” The newspaper’s Chron website also covers this story.
In its detailed coverage of HB 718’s approval, KXAN reports that officials are crediting the station’s dogged efforts to expose the fraudulent tag trade with bringing about DMV reforms and the new legislation. The article also notes, in reference to the effective date postponement, that Governor Abbott recently signed HB 914, a measure effective on September 1, that makes temporary license plates a “government record.” “Law enforcement officials said this will make it easier to prosecute tag fraud with tampering charges.”
Crime Beat New York New York City Scofflaws TexasThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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