To ensure a smooth rollout, the law signed last week by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that will replace temporary paper tags with metal ones will not come into effect until July 1, 2025.
The author of HB 718, Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Fort Worth), explained that the two-year delay in implementing the paper plate ban would ease the transition for customers, auto dealers, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV).
Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) expressed a similar consideration about the bill he sponsored in the State Senate, noting it would require a new set of rules for the TxDMV that will take months to write.
“You can’t just turn on the light. I mean, yes, the bill is now law, but it’s going to take some time in order to implement it,” West said, speaking to NBC 5.
For his part, Goldman admitted that he did not expect the bill to pass both chambers, explaining “big items like this don’t pass in one session,” NBC 5 reported.
Any pushback to the switch from paper to temporary metal plates was swiftly countered by law enforcement officials, who championed the initiative.
“I’m so glad that [the governor] signed it. I think Texas is safer the minute he did,” said Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney, according to NBC 5.
Scesney pushed for the bill as lawmakers at the state capitol deliberated it. He was honoring the promise he made to the family of Officer Brandon Tsai, who was killed in the line of duty last November.
As The Dallas Express reported at the time, Tsai died in a crash while in pursuit of a vehicle with a fraudulent paper tag. The 23-year-old suspect driving the car was sentenced to jail last May after pleading guilty to two felony charges related to the incident.
Fraudsters across the country have been involved in fabricating and selling counterfeit Texas paper tags, prompting the TxDMV to shore up security by adding a watermark, changing the font, and other controls, as The Dallas Express reported.
While the TxDMV’s paper tag overhaul and the upcoming two-year phase-out should dampen the illegal use of temporary state tags, law enforcement will continue to target counterfeiters.
“We aren’t going to stop, so we go out as you know, conducting operations, we’re finding a fictitious paper plate about one every six minutes. So, we’re going to keep taking them off the street for the next two years,” Scesney said, according to NBC 5.
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