SB1568

The existing Animal Friendly plate remains. SB1568 adds a specific second plate and extends the existing fee-deposit rule to it; it does not require drivers to buy either specialty plate. Under the account’s existing law, the Department of State Health Services may use the money for grants to eligible organizations that sterilize animals owned by the public at minimal or no cost, and for account administration. “Adopt” in the new plate’s wording does not itself create a new adoption grant program. Final law; Prior plate law; Existing account and grant rules.

The introduced bill would have required other animal-welfare and spay-neuter plates and design consultation with the Texas Humane Legislation Network. The Senate committee substitute replaced that broader approach with the specific “Spay. Neuter. Adopt.” plate and an explicit fee-deposit amendment. The named consultation requirement did not survive. The Senate-passed, House committee and final texts retain the substitute’s operative provisions. No floor amendments are indexed. Introduced; Senate substitute; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Voluntary plate buyers get another way to support the account; eligible sterilization providers and pet owners using their services could benefit if additional purchases produce grant funding. The act does not guarantee sales, an award to a particular organization, or free services for every pet owner. DMV must design and administer the plate. SB1568 sets no new fee amount: the existing general-distribution statute ordinarily provides a $30 issuance fee and $8 administrative share, subject to express statutory or department-rule exceptions and its exclusion for specified private-vendor plates. Those are background rules, not a new fee increase enacted here. Final law; Existing general fee rules; Account rules.

The April 17 introduced-version and April 24 substitute fiscal notes anticipate no significant state or local fiscal impact, assume costs can be absorbed within existing resources and characterize revenue implications as insignificant. The substitute note also says the revenue dedication is subject to the Legislature’s funds-consolidation review. Neither note gives a dollar forecast or multiyear cost table. The act itself makes no appropriation. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note; Final law.