A number of special interest groups have fought over the design of specialty license plates in Texas over the past few weeks. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People cheered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) board last month for rejecting a “Sons of Confederate Veterans” plate the group found racially offensive. An American Indian group blasted a plate honoring the Buffalo Soldiers, a regiment of black troops who served in the US Army from the end of the Civil War through 1951. These plate conflicts may turn out to be unnecessary because beginning on January 1, 2012, the use of license plates in the Lone Star State becomes optional.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, current law mandates the display of two license plates — one at the front and another at the rear of a vehicle. Failure to comply is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a $200 fine under Texas Code Section 502.404. As part of a sweeping revision of the state vehicle code, however, that provision will soon disappear.

House Bill 2357 was intended as a non-controversial 234-page update to existing law. It passed the state House on May 29 voted 139-6 and the state Senate 31-0, receiving the signature of Governor Rick Perry (R) on June 17.

“The motor vehicle statutes were codified in 1995, but there has not been a complete reorganization of substance since before that time,” Representative Joseph Pickett (D-El Paso) wrote in his justification of the legislation. “This bill directly addresses the problem of the statutes being outdated in regard to automation and organization.”

As part of the update, the new law deleted the license plate statute, returning parts of it to Section 502.473 and 504.943. In moving around the legal language, the bill went through the entire legislative process without anybody noticing that a key line was deleted without providing a replacement: “An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200.”

Without the line, it is not clear whether police officers or courts would have the authority to impose a punishment on drivers who chose not to display license plates or registration stickers, especially in jurisdictions that still use red light cameras. Driving with a false or altered plate remains a misdemeanor, however. Lawmakers will not have a chance to remedy their mistake until January 8, 2013 when the legislature reconvenes, unless Governor Perry calls a special session specifically to address the license plate issue.

A copy of the legislation as enacted is available in a 650k PDF file at the source link below. Source

December 6, 2011 · Tona · No Comments
Tags: License Plate · Posted in: Right to Travel

NMA E-Newsletter #149: TSA Turns to Nation’s Highways

TSA Turns to Nation’s Highways

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was formed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It has grown into a bloated, ineffective federal agency that will command a budget of $8.1 billion for 2012.

On second thought, forget “grown into.” It has been ineffective since Day 1.

We have the TSA to thank for knee-jerk, reactionary policies that resulted in airport security measures such as shoe removals, confiscation of liquids/gels/aerosols in containers larger than 3.4 ounces, and full body scans.

Security expert Bruce Schneier goes so far as to say, “Exactly two things have made airplane travel safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door, and convincing passengers they need to fight back. Everything else has been a waste of money. Add screening of checked bags and airport workers and we’re done.”

Now the TSA is bringing its wasteful and intrusive ways to our nation’s highways.

The TSA joined with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security last month to conduct an operation that randomly searched truck cargoes and subjected bus passengers to detailed individual security checks under the premise that terrorism is more likely to be found on interstates than on airplanes.

The joint operation was given the indecipherable name “Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response”, presumably because it results in the awesome-sounding acronym, VIPR.

The VIPR security operations were staged simultaneously at five Tennessee roadside weigh stations and at two bus depots in Knoxville and Nashville.

Tennessee officials have been quick to point out that VIPR is not in response to any particular terrorist threat. The drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs deployed at the weigh stations, they say, are terrorism countermeasures and not violations of the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

NMA Tennessee State Activist Tona Monroe begged to differ. She sent messages to state politicians and to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security demanding an immediate stoppage of VIPR activities.

In response, a representative from the Department of Safety noted that “the purpose of the VIPR operation was to detect and deter criminal activity on Tennessee’s roadways and educate professional truck drivers to look for and report suspicious activity . . . While Tennessee is the first state to conduct a VIPR operation on this large of a scale (simultaneously at seven locations), Tennessee is not the first state to ever conduct a joint federal-state VIPR operation.”

Nor will it be the last. The United States has 55.6 million miles of paved roads and the TSA has bank vaults full of taxpayer cash to spend.

One can only imagine the schemes that will be dreamed up to cast a wide and warrantless net over our nation’s drivers and travelers. ?

November 16, 2011 · Tona · One Comment
Posted in: Constitutional Rights, Fear Tactics, Offical Impropriety, Police State, Privacy Invasion, Traffic Stop, TSA

ATS Sues Knoxville Over Right Turn on Red Citations

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/nov/11/red-light-cam-vendor-sues-knoxville/

November 16, 2011 · Tona · One Comment
Posted in: Camera Ban, Camera Companies, Camera Vendor Losing Money, Evidence Requirments, Government Losing Money, Government Revenue Scam, Police State, Red Light Cameras, Ticket Cameras

Chicago Safety Zones for Revenue Profit

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-speed-camera-1106-20111106,0,4633406.story?page=1

November 7, 2011 · Tona · No Comments
Posted in: Government Revenue Scam, Police State, Speed Limits, Speed Trap, Speeding Ticket, Ticket Cameras

Drivers Stop for Red Lights: Denver, CO Tickets Them Anyway

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/11/03/denver-collects-fines-on-drivers-who-stop-at-red-lights/

November 4, 2011 · Tona · No Comments
Posted in: Constitutional Rights, Court Cases, Government Revenue Scam, Police State, Red Light Cameras, Ticket Cameras

Michigan Supreme Court and State Police Say Local Limit is Legal, but East Lansing Police Keep Issuing Tickets

http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/SPECIAL_INVESTIGATION_Mid-Michigan_Road_Has_Improper_Speed_Limit_132741553.html

October 29, 2011 · Tona · No Comments
Posted in: Engineering Standards, Government Revenue Scam, Illegal Traffic Stop, Offical Impropriety, Police State, Privacy Invasion, Speed Limits, Speed Trap, Speeding Ticket

New mayor restores freedom, kills DUI checkpoints

http://www.gazette.com/opinion/city-126967-new-hall.html

http://www.gazette.com/articles/light-126947-red-chief.html

These articles show that freedom is not a novel idea and that good leadership can restore limited government, liberty and freedom. We the people have accepted soft tyranny for far to long.

October 19, 2011 · Tona · No Comments
Posted in: Constitutional Rights, Illegal Traffic Stop, Police State, Road Blocks