Tag Archives: vehicle registration

No more vehicle inspections

I didn’t know about this one. Texas legislators have approved a bill to eliminate annual vehicle safety inspections, meaning automobile registration renewals would never again be contingent on the state of a motorist’s windshield wipers or fuel cap. The Texas … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

More reasons not to put people in jail

We shouldn’t put people in jail for owing fines. In January, state Rep. James White, R-Hillister, filed House Bill 1125, which would ban Texas judges from jailing people for an offense that is punishable only by a fine. State Rep. … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Year 2 for “One Sticker”

Surely this year will go more smoothly. Texas dropped its familiar green safety inspection sticker a year ago, creating confusion for millions of vehicle and trailer owners in the state. Though inspections didn’t change – but might soon, as some … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Vehicle registration renewal error notice

The following is a public service announcement. From the inbox: 320,000 Texas Drivers Receive Error in Renewal Notice Mike Sullivan wants to ensure Harris County drivers are aware of issue Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan wants to ensure Harris County drivers … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vehicle registration renewal error notice

One sticker for all has begun

Hope it wasn’t too confusing for you if you had to deal with it this week. On Monday – the first full day under the new system for registering cars, trucks, trailers and motorcycles in Texas – drivers trying to … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One sticker for all has begun

Sticker reduction coming

From the inbox: Harris County is gearing up for a new Texas Two Step. Beginning March 1, 2015, the state will no longer issue vehicle inspection stickers and will move to a “Two Steps, One Sticker” program. Under the new … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sticker reduction coming

Get ready to go inspection sticker-free

Things are gonna be different next year. Texas drivers will have a little less clutter on their windshield next year when the familiar green inspection sticker goes away, but it comes at the price of requiring inspections in order to … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Credit cards at the Tax Assessor’s office

If you’ve paid your vehicle registration fees in person at the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office, you’ve had to bring cash or check to do so, because they don’t accept credit cards for that. Thankfully, that’s about to change. More … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No more inspection stickers

That’s the plan, and I think it makes a lot of sense. Texas’ vehicle inspection stickers would become a thing of the past under legislation approved unanimously Monday by the state Senate. But there’s a catch: Vehicles still would have … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on No more inspection stickers

Perry works against his own stated interests

I don’t understand this at all. A bill that would have increased vehicle registration fees to raise money for transportation projects met its demise in the Texas House on Thursday. House Bill 3664 by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still arguing about road funding

I still don’t quite get why the obvious solution is so blithely dismissed. With most of the work of developing a state budget behind them, lawmakers can now drill deeper into the state’s spending plan to find a way to … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still arguing about road funding

We’re not going to solve our transportation issues without new revenue

The choice isn’t whether or not to pay, it’s how do you want to pay. Despite broad agreement that repairing and improving Texas highways will cost more money than it has in the past, legislators split Monday on whether now … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Speeding tickets and vehicle registration

I confess, I’m puzzled by this. Municipal Court Presiding Judge Barbara Hartle has a proposal on Wednesday’s City Council agenda to sign an agreement with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles that would have the state refuse to issue vehicle … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fee for all

Fees are part of the answer for Texas’ pressing infrastructure needs, but they aren’t and cannot be the whole solution. To help keep the Texas business climate robust, lawmakers should double state fees on motor vehicle registrations and impose a … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Lege is going to have to spend some money

Whether they want to or not, there are a lot of issues that will be demanding attention and money from the Legislature when they convene in January. For example, there’s water. House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday the state’s water … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chron overview of the Tax Assessor primary

Having just reported on the vehicle registration problems at the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office, the Chron now writes about the GOP primary for that office. A Houston Chronicle story Friday reported Sumners’ staff is working overtime to process a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

I got those can’t get my car registration done on time blues

I have three things to say about this. The Harris County tax office is paying 32 clerks overtime on weekends to eliminate a large backlog of unprocessed auto registrations, a potentially serious problem that could force some motorists to drive … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Collecting unpaid red light camera fines update

You may recall that when the city settled its lawsuit with red light camera vendor ATS, they agreed to pay a certain amount of money that would be generated by collecting still-unpaid red light camera fines. Ted Oberg has an … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

HPD sends “Pay your red light camera ticket or else” letter

With predictable results. Houston police have notified 79,000 motorists that they cannot renew their vehicle registrations until they pay red light camera fines and penalties, even though Harris County officials repeatedly have said they will not prevent people from registering … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

County doesn’t want to help city collect red light camera fines

Last year, City Council passed an ordinance that would put a hold on vehicle registrations for which there are outstanding red light camera fines. The city’s ability to do this is contingent on cooperation from the county, as it is … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments