88R3615 BEE-D By: Wilson H.B. No. 5081 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the authority of the Department of Public Safety to set a maximum fee for certain motor vehicle safety inspections. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 548.501, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows: (a) On or before September 1 of each year, the department by rule shall set the maximum fee for an [Except as provided by Sections 548.503 and 548.504, the fee for] inspection of a motor vehicle. A maximum fee set by the department under this subsection may not be less than: (1) [other than a moped is] $12.50 for a motor vehicle other than a moped; or (2) [. The fee for inspection of a moped is] $5.75 for a moped. (c) A maximum fee set by the department under Subsection (a) must be: (1) based on the costs of providing inspections and administering the program; and (2) set at an amount that: (A) is affordable to the public; and (B) encourages a sufficient number of inspection stations to operate in this state so that the public is served without a significant backlog. (d) This section does not apply to an inspection of a motor vehicle that is subject to a fee under Section 548.503 or 548.504. SECTION 2. (a) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules establishing the maximum fee for a motor vehicle inspection under Section 548.501, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act. (b) Section 548.501, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an inspection of a motor vehicle performed on or after the effective date of the rules described by Subsection (a) of this section. An inspection performed before that date is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.