The RTS Windows 10 Migration will be postponed through the holidays until January 3, 2020. Texas Department of Motor Vehicles staff will be reaching out to those counties originally scheduled during this time to coordinate a new migration date.

Please contact Schon Connaker, the Windows 10 Project Manager, at 512-465-1447 if you have any questions.

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

Registration and Title Bulletin (RTB) #006-19, dated August 22, 2019, provided information related to the application for Disabled Person license plates and Disabled Parking Placards. The RTB included information about House Bill 3163, which requires the department to provide information on laws governing parking for persons with disabilities and instructions for reporting alleged violations. The required informational brochure was not finalized when RTB #006-19 was distributed.

The informational brochure, Persons with Disabilities License Plates and Placards (VTR-429), is finalized and an initial supply should be distributed to county tax assessor-collector offices beginning late December 2019. The brochure must be given to customers when issuing a Disabled Placard or Disabled Person or Disabled Veteran license plates.

Thank you,
Jeremiah Kuntz, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division

JK:TT:TM

If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center.

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

The Registration and Title System (RTS) Release 9.5, scheduled for deployment December 16th, will include programming changes to implement House Bill (HB) 1548 and HB 3842, enacted by the 86th Legislature. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) Board must adopt administrative rules to implement these legislative items. Rule changes were proposed at the August 2019 TxDMV Board Meeting, and the rules were scheduled for adoption in December 2019. However, the adoption of the rules was postponed to allow additional time for further public comment. Due to this, the rules are expected to be scheduled for adoption at an early 2020 TxDMV Board meeting. The programming implemented with RTS Release 9.5, as outlined below, should not be used at this time. The department will provide further communication to notify you when RTS can be used to process these transactions.

HB 3842 authorizes the department by administrative rule to establish titling requirements and waive fees paid to a dealer by the purchaser when an out of business dealer failed to apply for title on the purchaser’s behalf as required by Transportation Code, §501.0234. HB 3842 also allows for waiving the fees for the issuance of one 30-Day permit. RTS Release 9.5 facilitates waiving fees paid to a dealer during a title application and for issuance of one 30-Day permit by adding a “Dealer Closure” checkbox in RTS. As noted above, there will be no change to the process for handling transactions when a dealer has gone out of business until rules have been adopted. You should not select this checkbox at this time. A Registration and Title Bulletin (RTB) will be distributed providing further guidance on HB 3842 closer to the effective date of the rules.

HB 1548 resulted in several changes for off-highway vehicles and golf carts. HB 1548 allows an off-highway vehicle to be operated on roads when the vehicle displays an Off-Highway Vehicle license plate. Off-highway vehicles are defined as an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), recreational off-highway vehicle (ROV), utility vehicle (UTV), or sand rail. HB 1548 also requires a golf cart operated on roads to display a Golf Cart license plate.

RTS Release 9.5 includes the functionality to issue plates to off-highway vehicles, but do not issue plates to these vehicles as the rules for HB 1548 must be adopted and in effect before the plates can be issued. The department will notify you when the rules authorizing issuance of Off-Highway Vehicle license plates to off-highway vehicles are effective. Also, an RTB providing detailed guidance on HB 1548 will be distributed closer to the effective date of the rules. An initial order of the new Off-Highway Vehicle and redesigned Golf Cart license plates will be shipped to your county before the effective date of the rule.

Your office should continue to operate as it does today regarding the issuance of Golf Cart license plates. Counties that currently issue Golf Cart plates with inventory on hand should continue to issue the same plates. Counties that currently do not issue Golf Cart plates should delay issuance until you receive your initial order of the redesigned Golf Cart license plate.

Thank you,

Jeremiah Kuntz, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division

JK:TT:TM

If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center.

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

Thank you,

Jeremiah Kuntz, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Attachments

If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center.

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

As you are aware, Senate Bill 604, enacted by the 86th Legislature, added Transportation Code, Section 520.023. The legislation requires the department to implement a training program on the department’s automated registration and titling system and identification of fraudulent activity related to vehicle registration and titling.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles’ (TxDMV) Board voted to adopt rules for this training program during its October 3, 2019, board meeting, which will be effective December 16, 2019. While the adopted rules only had minor changes from the proposed rules we previously detailed for you, we wanted to ensure you received a communication detailing the adopted rules and to provide you additional information.

Training Requirements
The rule requires all users of the RTS, which includes county, full-service deputy, and department personnel, to complete a minimum level of fraud training. Additional training is required depending on the RTS security permissions granted to the individual users. Not every user will be required to complete all modules; however, a user with all RTS security permissions would be required to take all modules. Every user will need to complete at least three fraud training modules and the “R-108 – RTS Overview and Security” module. From there, each security permission requires completing additional modules. We previously provided you with the final RTS-to-Module mapping document and are reattaching it for your convenience.

Existing RTS users will have until August 31, 2020, to complete all required training associated with existing permissions. New permissions cannot be enabled for any user until required training is completed. This means an existing RTS user being assigned a new permission on or after December 16, 2019, must complete the required training and the training be verified by the department before the new permission can be assigned. Further, any new RTS user must complete the required training and the training be verified by the department before any access can be granted and permissions can be assigned.

Training must be completed through the department’s existing eLearning training system. Each employee must complete the training with their individually assigned eLearning credentials. The department is unable to give RTS users credit for training completed under a shared eLearning account. As a reminder, these training modules can be accessed from the TAC Hub by selecting “Go to TxDMV Learning Center” in the TAC Toolbox or directly at https://learningtxdmv.articulate-online.com/Login.aspx.

eLearning modules typically range from 10 to 25 minutes in length. The time it takes a user to complete the training will vary by user and the permissions the user has or will have assigned. A user will have successfully completed an eLearning module upon receiving a passing score of at least 80% on the test at the end of the module. Users who have already achieved a score of at least 80% on the test at the end of a module will not be required to retake the module, unless the module is substantively updated after December 16, 2019.

A user may retake a module as often and as soon as desired. There are no limits on how often a user may retake a module or how quickly they may do so. Further, the “status” reflected on a module has no impact to a user’s completion so long as the user has scored at least 80%. Please do not consider the “status” listed for a user’s module, since it may reflect as “incomplete” or some other status, yet reflect a score. The score is the only item the department considers when verifying completion of modules.

New or Updated Training Modules
If new modules are added or existing modules are substantively updated between December 16, 2019, and August 31, 2020, RTS users with permissions requiring these modules will have until August 31, 2020, to complete the module and report completion to the department. If the completion is reported to the department by August 31, 2020, the associated security permission(s) will not be disabled. However, if the department is unable to verify completion after August 31, 2020, the permission will be disabled.

The department will provide notice when new or updated modules are released. As we previously communicated, the department will not release any new or revised modules between June 1 and August 31, 2020.

Starting September 1, 2020, any new or updated modules associated with an existing RTS security permission must be completed within 120 days of the department’s notice the module is available. If the completion is reported to the department by the 120th day, the associated security permission(s) will not be disabled. However, if the department is unable to verify completion after the 120th day, the permission will be disabled.

A county tax assessor-collector at their discretion may grant a 14-day extension to a county employee or full-service deputy if the person is on leave on the day of revision release, they remain on leave for the duration of the 120 days, and the leave is due to circumstances beyond the person’s control.

Reporting Module Completion
Beginning December 16 with the RTS 9.5 Release, completion must be reported through RTS and subsequently verified by the department. Security permissions will still be assigned and removed by county personnel; however, the department must verify all associated modules are completed for an applicable permission before the permission can be enabled.

To report completed modules, an RTS user with the “Security” security permission must:

1. Access the Employee Security event in RTS (located in the Local Options menu under Security).
2. Enter the Employee Id, and allow the user’s security profile to load.
3. Select the new “Report Training” button located at the bottom of the screen. A new screen will load listing all modules a user has not completed or modules that must be retaken (because they have been updated). Completed modules verified by the department will not appear.
4. Select all applicable modules (you can select more than one module by holding the CTRL button and clicking multiple modules), and select the Enter button. The applicable modules have now been reported as complete to the department.

The department will verify reports of module completion submitted by county tax assessor-collector’s offices in the order they are received statewide. The department will verify reported modules have been passed with a score of at least 80% by the RTS user. If a user has not met this requirement, the module will be returned. When the department verifies or returns reported modules, all county RTS users with the “Security” security permission will receive a red popup in RTS alerting them to the department’s review.

Available Reports and Resources
The RTS 9.5 Release will feature new Cognos reports. One report will identify users with expiring permissions and identify which modules must be completed and another report is a user transcript. Further, RTS itself will contain a report feature that details which modules a user has and has not completed towards each security permission. More information on these new reports will be made available via the RTS 9.5 Release Notes.

We have added a new “Training” tab to the TAC Hub. The tab already contains distributed information and documents for your use, including a job aid and the RTS-to-Module mapping document. Other documents and information will be added as they are made available.

Webinars
The department will be hosting webinars to discuss this communication, review new RTS screens and functionality related to this program, review the Cognos reports, explain eLearning reports, and provide answers to your questions.

Thursday, December 12, 2019, at 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CST
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5978358484071635457

Thursday, December 12, 2019, at 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM CST
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8340138047836818689

Thank you,

Jeremiah Kuntz, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

JK:TT:TH

Attachment

If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center.