LEGISLATIVE ALERT

                                        TEXAS

To:  Texas Manufacturers, Distributors, and Installers

From:  Darrell Smith, Executive Director                                      

             Lynwood Butner, Legislative Consultant

Date:  August 28, 2009

Subject:  Senate Bill 589 (House Bill 4523)

Previous Alerts in March and July advised members of the legislation as             signed into law and becoming effective on September 1, 2009. 

There have been a number of calls regarding the proper placement of              labels and the information that should be provided on the label.  We have                been working with the very helpful Department of Public Safety staff and are     providing the following information for our members. 

The label should be located on the “driver’s side window in the lower rearward corner.”  The language contained in Section 547.609 A (3) and                (4) can be interpreted to require that labels be installed on all windows, but             the current policy for the labeling regulations only identifies the driver’s side         window for compliance with the law.  This policy will be re-evaluated, and               there could be modifications in the future that would change the current             regulation to specify a label in all windows where film was installed. 

The new law requires that language indicating full compliance with the law               be included on the label. This language should read:

Complies with TTC 547.613 (b)

As an example, the label should include the following information:

Solar Gard

Window Films

Complies with TTC 547.613 (b)

Bekaert Specialty Films, LLC

Many of our members, in order to meet the September 1 deadline,          printed labels which referenced SEC. 547.613 (b) in order to be able               to distribute the new labels in time for the law change.  The IWFA               received tentative approval for this from the Texas Department of            Public Safety.  However, officials have indicated in the last several      days that since TTC is more accurate, in the future, new labels should be        printed using this uniform and correct terminology. In the meantime,    members may use those already printed with the reference to            SEC.547.613 (b) instead of TTC.