Efforts by law enforcement organizations paid off this week with a significant victory.
House Bill 718, which bans paper plates, was approved by the governor, Greg Abbott. A sergeant who is a member of the task group that struggled to accomplish this was interviewed by ABC13.
He and other activists claim that paper plates are a major issue in Texas, particularly in Harris County. Not only do some people utilize it to avoid detection while committing crimes, but it also undermines the formal registration process.
When a vehicle is sold, car dealers will now have to issue metal license plates from the Texas DMV. The present paper one-trip and 30-day temporary licenses will be replaced by the $10 metal plates.
The Travis County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office’s Sgt. Jose Escribano described the bill as a “mammoth step for law enforcement in Texas.”
“That’s going to help everybody all the way across the United States, so it’s huge,” he said. “This is a huge thing, and I’m very, very happy with that. Is it going to end tomorrow? No. We have to wait, and we have to be patient and keep on fighting this fight because we still have another at least a year and a half to two to wait.”
The new regulation becomes effective on July 1st, 2025.
The Texas DMV has until December 1, 2024, to draft a rule implementing the change and establish an expedited process.
