Texas License Plate Law?????

[Keith B]

There's actually a couple of things that could happen. The Governor could call an emergency session and they make a modification to the law to correct it. Or, I think a Judge can override the law and cause the change to not go into effect until the session could meet again and make the changes needed (not 100% sure on the second one.)

[rm9792]

There will no longer be a fine for not having license plates - I read it as the front plate is not required and rear plate is now optional since there is no fine imposed for not having plates displayed.

I bought a new car and didn't put the front plate on the bumper, its in the front window. As of Jan 1 the front plate will not be in the window anymore, but I will keep the rear plate on. No reason to draw any more attention from law enforcement than needed.

I posted this a while back on a car forum and there was a LEO that said they have not been made aware of the change (yet). What about the LEO's on here? What is your take on this law? The AG was supposedly reviewing this, any news from them yet?

All you are doing is uglying up your dash. The front window is just as illegal as none at all. I have never had front plates on my cars and only gotten 1 ticket I can remember in the last 20 years about it. DPS pulled me over last week and even he didn't ticket me. They don't seem to really care about it, just a good fishing excuse. I would rather pay a fine every few years than ruin a gt500 front end.

[GeekwithaGun]

All you are doing is uglying up your dash.

I agree, but the front plate has to be displayed, its the law , but the law doesn't specify it must be on the bumper This would probably be a judgment call by the officer who pulls me over.

I see so many cars without the front plate its ridiculous. But, I did have a friend recently get a $200 fine recently.

She's too pretty to put holes in the bumper.

[paulhailes]

There's actually a couple of things that could happen. The Governor could call an emergency session and they make a modification to the law to correct it. Or, I think a Judge can override the law and cause the change to not go into effect until the session could meet again and make the changes needed (not 100% sure on the second one.)

I spoke to my Chief at the academy and he said it would be up to to the judge. It is still an offense even though there is no listed penalty, so keep them plates on.

[rm9792]

All you are doing is uglying up your dash.

I agree, but the front plate has to be displayed, its the law , but the law doesn't specify it must be on the bumper This would probably be a judgment call by the officer who pulls me over.

I see so many cars without the front plate its ridiculous. But, I did have a friend recently get a $200 fine recently.

She's too pretty to put holes in the bumper.

I did some research and I stand corrected. I had asked several officers and got the same response from them years ago, has to be on front of the car.

[rm9792]

She's too pretty to put holes in the bumper.

same here. Would love to run that SRT.....

[Purplehood]

It is just me, but I could never conceive of sticking a license plate in my front window. I can imagine the mayhem and damage to face(s) that could occur if a License Plate started flying around the car.

[C-dub]

It is just me, but I could never conceive of sticking a license plate in my front window. I can imagine the mayhem and damage to face(s) that could occur if a License Plate started flying around the car.

Nope. It's not just you.

[knotquiteawake]

I passed that article along to my FIL who works as a Assistant Chief of Police. He passed it along to the city attorney's office. They told him that the article appears correct in its interpretation of the new law. There doesn't appear to be any penalties for no plates at all. He's not over the traffic division right now but he's still surprised it was the first he had heard of it.

[wharvey]

For curiosity, anyone know how many states have front plates? When we moved back from Indian earlier this year we had to have my wife's and daughter's car fix so they could be put on. I'd bought my truck in Texas so it wasn't a problem for me.

As an aside, I was shocked when we had to pay Texas sales tax on their cars - and even more shocked when I was charge a tax on mine, which was bought in Texas to start with. In my case they called it non-resident tax instead of sales tax. Double tax payments seem like nothing but greed on the part of the state.

[jimlongley]

It is just me, but I could never conceive of sticking a license plate in my front window. I can imagine the mayhem and damage to face(s) that could occur if a License Plate started flying around the car.

A friend at the phone company had picked up a set of tags from the motor vehicle bureau and was driving along in his bucket truck when he was broadsided by a sedan "driven" by a woman who was attending to a squalling child in a car seat and ran a red light at around 40mph. His truck turned completely over and came back to rest on its wheels, a LARGE bucket truck. Dave was pretty badly injured, his lunchbox (the kind with a thermos in the top) was identified as the object that broke his right forearm, and a pretty bad slash on his upper arm came from his license plates. He also suffered a severe head injury and other bumps and bruises, but we were all amazed at the amount of damage the plates inflicted.

Shortly after that one, the phone company came out with a new edict about not carrying "loose" items in the truck cab.

[GeekwithaGun]

It is just me, but I could never conceive of sticking a license plate in my front window. I can imagine the mayhem and damage to face(s) that could occur if a License Plate started flying around the car.

Nope. It's not just you.

Mine is secured to the windshield using heavy duty velcro to keep it from doing that. I may be delusional that it will stay in place, but after Jan 1 it comes out.

[Bullwhip]

I spoke to my Chief at the academy and he said it would be up to to the judge. It is still an offense even though there is no listed penalty, so keep them plates on.

So its just like not notifying that you have a CHL and are armed? Still required, just no penalty if you don't.

[C-dub]

I spoke to my Chief at the academy and he said it would be up to to the judge. It is still an offense even though there is no listed penalty, so keep them plates on.

So its just like not notifying that you have a CHL and are armed? Still required, just no penalty if you don't.

If they fix their boo boo. They inadvertently removed the requirement for any license plate to be displayed when they thought they just removing the requirement for the front plate.

[knotquiteawake]

Here is a request to the Attorney General for clarification. https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/op ... 1014GA.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Interesting reading. Keep an eye on the AG website to see what the reply is.
My FIL says the police will probably keep enforcing the plate laws and let the courts figure it out. He thinks the AG will lean towards the regular class C traffic misdemeanor $200 fine but that the courts are of course not bound by the AGs opinion so it will likely be litigated somewhere.
The answer to the request will eventually be posted here:
https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opin/opindex.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;