(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this rule, all Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) vehicles shall be inscribed in accordance with Texas Transportation Code § 721.002 and § 721.003.
(b) The purposes for not inscribing TDCJ vehicles are to legitimately maintain anonymity for law enforcement purposes, to avoid damage to a vehicle or danger to staff that could occur if the vehicle were identified as a TDCJ vehicle, and to avoid hindrance of TDCJ efforts in an emergency, such as an escape, attempted escape, or riot. Accordingly, the following vehicles are exempt from inscription:
  (1) vehicles used for surveillance, undercover work, or investigation of law or TDCJ policy violations by the Office of the Inspector General or any other investigatory unit within the TDCJ;
  (2) vehicles used primarily for administrative purposes and assigned to TDCJ officials holding administrative positions, as determined by the executive director, for which confidentiality is necessary to prevent undue risk of danger or injury to TDCJ officials operating those vehicles or damage to the vehicle;
  (3) vehicles assigned to officials holding administrative positions whose jobs require response to emergency situations involving inmates; and
  (4) vehicles used to conduct home visits of offenders under supervision of the TDCJ.
(c) The TDCJ shall establish a procedure for determining whether a vehicle is subject to an exemption in subsection (b) of this rule. If the executive director determines that a vehicle should be exempt but does not fit into an exemption under subsection (b) of this rule, the executive director may authorize the non-inscription of the vehicle subject to ratification at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ). Ratification may be by inclusion under consent items on the TBCJ meeting agenda at such meeting as described above.

Source Note: The provisions of this §151.71 adopted to be effective April 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 2476; amended to be effective December 19, 2007, 32 TexReg 9357; amended to be effective March 5, 2017, 42 TexReg 766; amended to be effective March 3, 2024, 49 TexReg 1285