Texas is eliminating paper license plates. Gov Greg Abbott (R) signed HB718 into law Monday bringing an end to the state’s troubled temporary paper license tag system. The new law will replace all paper tags with metal ones starting July 1, 2025. A yearlong series of reports from NBC 5 Investigates led to calls for change. Our series, “Paper Tag Nation” exposed how criminals obtained car dealer licenses so they could access the Texas DMV’s online system and then print and sell fraudulent paper tags. Some of those tags were then used on cars involved in serious crimes. State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) told the Senate during the legislative session that passage of the bill would deliver a blow to organized crime. Over the last year, the Texas DMV has implemented new security measures and suspended dozens of licensed car dealers suspected of using the state’s own system to sell fraudulent tags on the black market.  But as the DMV cracked down, counterfeiters stepped in making and selling entirely fake tags and capitalizing on the widespread confusion created by the proliferation of fraudulent tags printed out of the DMV’s system. PREVIOUS REPORTS
June 12, 2023 – Gov. Abbott signs law eliminating paper license plates…

During a discussion with the Texas Public Policy Foundation Friday afternoon on bills passed during the 88th legislative session, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott talked about the ongoing work to reduce and eventually eliminate the state’s property tax. Abbott reiterated Friday to TPPF CEO Greg Sindelar his intent to deliver to residents the largest property tax cut in the history of the state that will eventually lead to the elimination of property taxes. This session, legislators are working to reduce the property tax burden through tax compression, which is the state’s ability to use existing taxpayer money to buy down the school district maintenance and operations tax rate, effectively lowering the overall property tax obligation. The Texas House earlier this week approved a compression bill during Abbott’s first special session. In the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to pass a bill using compression, too, but the Senate’s plan also includes a larger homestead exemption of $100,000 to drive property taxes down even further than compression alone. To date, the chambers have not yet come to an agreement on which plan will make it’s way to the governor’s desk. Abbott said Friday his plan is to use compression over multiple legislative…

The Texas Senate voted Sunday night to advance a bill that would kill vehicle safety inspections. But, an amendment added to the bill would push back the end of inspections by two years, until 2025. Some Republican lawmakers have tried for years to shut down the state’s inspection program, saying inspections are an inconvenience to drivers and do not improve road safety. On the floor of the Senate Sunday, Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) urged his colleagues to keep inspections, saying lives are at stake. Johnson pointed to a new American Society of Civil Engineers study that found inspection programs have reduced car crash deaths across the country. “It found that states that have vehicle safety inspections have 5.5% fewer fatalities per year than states that don’t have inspection programs. In Texas that’s 261 dead people every single year,” Johnson said. But with a 20-11 vote the Senate opted to end inspections.  The amended bill now goes back to the House for consideration. Even if Texas eliminates safety inspections, drivers in major urban areas like the large DFW counties would still need annual emissions inspections which are mandated under federal rules. As lawmakers have debated the effectiveness of inspections, a monthslong NBC…