AUSTIN, TX -- Texas lawmakers passing a flurry of bills on the final day of the Legislative session in May accidentally removed a $200 fine for driving without license plates from the transportation code.

That oversight means that fine and enforcement of penalties for falsifying or obscuring plates could disappear when the law takes effect Jan. 1.

Rep. Joe Pickett sponsored the law and has written to Attorney General Greg Abbott asking for an opinion clarifying enforcement. He argued that penalties are implicit.

The El Paso Democrat also said interpreting the law any other way could have absurd and dangerous consequences.

Abbott's office received the letter Oct. 24 and has 180 days to respond. No one asked for an expedited decision -- even though the law takes effect in less than two months.

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