OT - New "Texas Dept. of Motor Vehicles" & License Plates
Wow .. I just learned tonight that, effective 11/1/09, Texas now has a "Dept. of Motor Vehicles", which is the agency now responsible for motor vehicle registration, licensing, etc. in our state. Those powers were transferred to it from the Tx. Dept of Transportation ("TexDot").
You can visit the agency's new website at www.dmv.tx.gov to check it out.
The agency's website includes instructions and forms for filing complaints involving moving companies, car dealers, and both dealers and manufacturers under our state's "Lemon Law."
Along with the changes of the new agency, as of last July you may have noticed that Texas has a new general license plate. It's laser-printed and 7-color. It is still made in Huntsville by inmates with whom a private agency has a contract on behalf of the state.
Texas is also now offering all kinds of personalized plates in various colors, styles, organizational names, etc. They are being sold through another private contractor. These new plates became available just yesterday, and can be viewed, availiability checked, and ordered, at the co. website at www.myplates.com
You can visit the agency's new website at www.dmv.tx.gov to check it out.
The agency's website includes instructions and forms for filing complaints involving moving companies, car dealers, and both dealers and manufacturers under our state's "Lemon Law."
Along with the changes of the new agency, as of last July you may have noticed that Texas has a new general license plate. It's laser-printed and 7-color. It is still made in Huntsville by inmates with whom a private agency has a contract on behalf of the state.
Texas is also now offering all kinds of personalized plates in various colors, styles, organizational names, etc. They are being sold through another private contractor. These new plates became available just yesterday, and can be viewed, availiability checked, and ordered, at the co. website at www.myplates.com
Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
Vehicle registration and titling is handled by COUNTY TAX OFFICES. Tx DPS has always been in charge of drivers licenses but the collection and distribution of registrations and plates is done by the County Tax office who then processes everything to TX Dot. The new DMV is a splinter sort of thing off of TxDot but the county tax assessor is still who will collect your registration and do all the computer work for registration and passing out stickers and titles. I worked there for 3 years.
Kris M. Ignorance is bliss...but not when you're aware of it!!
Thanks for the clarification, Kris .. Sorry if I confused folks any .. Plates and registrations will still be handled at the local assessor's offices, at least for now .. I wonder, though, if those tasks will eventually change and be transferred to the DMV .. 
Speaking of the county tax assessors offices, my big pet peeve about them is how you can never get ahold of anyone at any of the satellite locations in person over the phone, at least here in Dallas Co.. The public can only call the main # for the county and go through their automated system of FAQs. When you press a # to get live assistance it will only go to the main office here in Dallas Co. (i.e. downtown Dallas in the Records Bldg.). They have no direct #s publicly-listed for the branch locations.
I once ordered some personalized plates and they were supposed to be delivered to the Garland branch office from the main Dallas Co. assessors office when they came in. Somehow, though, they got lost between the main office and the Garland office. The people at the main office could not track them down on their end, and I could not get anyone on the phone at the Garland office to see what they knew about them on their end. I finally had to drive down to the Garland office and wait in line to talk to someone in person about it. One of the workers tried in vain to locate them, but then told me to call periodically to see if they came in yet there. I asked her, "HOW, when you don't have a public phone #???" She admitted that was a problem, too, sheepishly, but then wrote her desk phone # down on a piece of paper, looked around, and discretely handed it to me, saying, quietly, "call me at this #, but please don't give it to anyone else b/c we're not supposed to give that # out."
Seems to me if it's a public office being run with taxpayers' $$s they should have a telephone # that is accessible by the public! 
Speaking of the county tax assessors offices, my big pet peeve about them is how you can never get ahold of anyone at any of the satellite locations in person over the phone, at least here in Dallas Co.. The public can only call the main # for the county and go through their automated system of FAQs. When you press a # to get live assistance it will only go to the main office here in Dallas Co. (i.e. downtown Dallas in the Records Bldg.). They have no direct #s publicly-listed for the branch locations.
I once ordered some personalized plates and they were supposed to be delivered to the Garland branch office from the main Dallas Co. assessors office when they came in. Somehow, though, they got lost between the main office and the Garland office. The people at the main office could not track them down on their end, and I could not get anyone on the phone at the Garland office to see what they knew about them on their end. I finally had to drive down to the Garland office and wait in line to talk to someone in person about it. One of the workers tried in vain to locate them, but then told me to call periodically to see if they came in yet there. I asked her, "HOW, when you don't have a public phone #???" She admitted that was a problem, too, sheepishly, but then wrote her desk phone # down on a piece of paper, looked around, and discretely handed it to me, saying, quietly, "call me at this #, but please don't give it to anyone else b/c we're not supposed to give that # out."
Seems to me if it's a public office being run with taxpayers' $$s they should have a telephone # that is accessible by the public! Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
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