TX front license plate law removed (Law still in place - need two plates)

[caverman]

Did anyone else happen to see tonight on the news where some new legislation had just passed and they accidentally left off something with the punishment phase of the no front license plate law. That in turn means that at the moment there is no law breaking by not running a front license plate.

I'm not sure I understood everything they were talking about but I did catch it briefly on the news.

Anyone else see or know more about it?

[hot_rod]

from a Google news search:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/traffic/...ate-law-011112

to save ya the trip over there....Thanks for the post/tip caverman!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adapted for Web by Tracy DeLatte | myFOXdfw.com
DALLAS - Vehicles in Texas must display both front and back license plates. It’s been a state law since 1934. But lawmakers in rewriting the state transportation code recently made what could be a serious omission.
“Absolutely it is a potentially very big problem,” said Robert Gregg, a criminal defense and personal injury attorney. “The issue is not whether it is a fine. That’s where we start. The issue is whether or not it’s a crime.”
The old law read, “A person commits an offense if the person operates… a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two license plates at the front and rear of the vehicle.”
In the new bill passed into law on the last day of the session that language was accidentally struck from the measure.
“Problem is they didn’t move it over to the new section, therefore it’s not a crime,” Gregg said.
And if the offense is no crime, law enforcement officials may no longer be able to pull people over for it.
“It is fairly common. Unfortunately in this state people don’t really adhere to the two plate rule like they should. They put a lot of their school logos or their favorite football or baseball team and it is against the law. It is a crime,” said Sgt. Don Pertiz with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.
Pertiz said the law is often used as a tool to stop criminals on the streets.
“You’d be surprised how many offenses we uncover that start with no front license plate,” he said.
Trying to rectify the wrong, El Paso lawmaker Joe Pickett, who wrote the bill, has asked the attorney general for an opinion on whether it is a Class C misdemeanor not to display two license plates on a motor vehicle.
“Most times they don’t give you a ticket for this so the issue of not having a fine is not really it. The issue is they’ve taken out that it’s an offense. It’s not an offense. They can’t use it to pull somebody over, which they use it every day all day long,” Gregg said.
Pertiz said officers will likely continue to issue tickets based on the original law and let the courts worry about it.





Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/traffic/...#ixzz1jF1uUkt0

[overhaulengines]

Good read.

[justa25thTA]

Originally Posted by hot_rod

from a Google news search:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/traffic/...ate-law-011112

to save ya the trip over there....Thanks for the post/tip caverman!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adapted for Web by Tracy DeLatte | myFOXdfw.com
DALLAS - Vehicles in Texas must display both front and back license plates. It’s been a state law since 1934. But lawmakers in rewriting the state transportation code recently made what could be a serious omission.
“Absolutely it is a potentially very big problem,” said Robert Gregg, a criminal defense and personal injury attorney. “The issue is not whether it is a fine. That’s where we start. The issue is whether or not it’s a crime.”
The old law read, “A person commits an offense if the person operates… a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display two license plates at the front and rear of the vehicle.”
In the new bill passed into law on the last day of the session that language was accidentally struck from the measure.
“Problem is they didn’t move it over to the new section, therefore it’s not a crime,” Gregg said.
And if the offense is no crime, law enforcement officials may no longer be able to pull people over for it.
“It is fairly common. Unfortunately in this state people don’t really adhere to the two plate rule like they should. They put a lot of their school logos or their favorite football or baseball team and it is against the law. It is a crime,” said Sgt. Don Pertiz with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.
Pertiz said the law is often used as a tool to stop criminals on the streets.
“You’d be surprised how many offenses we uncover that start with no front license plate,” he said.
Trying to rectify the wrong, El Paso lawmaker Joe Pickett, who wrote the bill, has asked the attorney general for an opinion on whether it is a Class C misdemeanor not to display two license plates on a motor vehicle.
“Most times they don’t give you a ticket for this so the issue of not having a fine is not really it. The issue is they’ve taken out that it’s an offense. It’s not an offense. They can’t use it to pull somebody over, which they use it every day all day long,” Gregg said.
Pertiz said officers will likely continue to issue tickets based on the original law and let the courts worry about it.

Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/traffic/...#ixzz1jF1uUkt0

that sounds like complete and utter b@llsh@t if they know they are issuing tickets for something that isn't illegal

[clg_98ta]

Thanks for the info... I think I'll print out this story and keep it in my car in case I get pulled over - couldn't hurt, and maybe it'll change a potential ticket into a warning. I've managed to not get pulled over so far (two years now).

[hot_rod]

Originally Posted by clg_98ta

Thanks for the info... I think I'll print out this story and keep it in my car in case I get pulled over - couldn't hurt, and maybe it'll change a potential ticket into a warning. I've managed to not get pulled over so far (two years now).

Same boat, no ticket in two years....good idea to print it out.

[Chrisrp454]

Good to know was pulled over about a month after I got mine. But no ticket. I still do not have a front plate.

[Jekyll-N-Hyde]

Originally Posted by caverman

Did anyone else happen to see tonight on the news where some new legislation had just passed and they accidentally left off something with the punishment phase of the no front license plate law. That in turn means that at the moment there is no law breaking by not running a front license plate.

I'm not sure I understood everything they were talking about but I did catch it briefly on the news.

Anyone else see or know more about it?

I saw it and grinned as I still dont and will not install mine.

I have never had a cop say anything to me however there is always that one who would/will.

[Dustin Clary]

Great find. I will definitely be printing this out.

[Shuffler]

Too funny. In their rush to take another break they missed one of a million laws. lol

[EL_GUAPO]

"Pertiz said officers will likely continue to issue tickets based on the original law and let the courts worry about it."

TX DPS will still pull you over, I got stopped last December for not having a front license plate.

[wholloway6]

Speak of the devil... I just got a ticket for this today. Guess nobody told the police about this..

[Moni]

interesting!

[Texas Fright]

When I had my 4th gen convertible about 8 years ago I had an SLP grill on it and no front plate. I had a 60 mile roundtrip commute through DFW for work and In 14 months I got got stopped over 20 times for no front plate, no joke. Didn't help the car was red with custom wheel and aftermarket parts so it caught their eyes quickly. After the 7th or 8th time I bought a factory front plate holder and put a plate in it, when I got stopped I would just say it fell off because a bracket broke and I was waiting for a replacement bracket. They never wrote me a ticket and let me go every time, I would recommend trying that. Surprisingly the same cop never pulled me over twice lol

Unfortunately I have one on my cts and camaro now and hate them