INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION PLAN.

(a) The department, through its director, may enter into an agreement with an authorized officer of another jurisdiction, including another state of the United States, a foreign country or a state, province, territory, or possession of a foreign country, to provide for:

(1) the registration of vehicles by residents of this state and nonresidents on an allocation or mileage apportionment plan, as under the International Registration Plan; and

(2) the exemption from payment of registration fees by nonresidents if residents of this state are granted reciprocal exemptions.

(b) The department may adopt and enforce rules to carry out the International Registration Plan or other agreement under this section. The rules may require an applicant to register under the unified carrier registration system as defined by Section 643.001 before the applicant applies for registration under the International Registration Plan.

(c) To carry out the International Registration Plan or other agreement under this section, the department shall direct that fees collected for other jurisdictions under the agreement be deposited to the credit of the proportional registration distributive fund in the state treasury and distributed to the appropriate jurisdiction through that fund. The department is not required to refund any amount less than $10 unless required by the plan.

(d) This section prevails to the extent of conflict with another law relating to the subject of this section.

(e) A person commits an offense if the person owns or operates a vehicle not registered in this state in violation of:

(1) an agreement under this section; or

(2) the applicable registration laws of this state, in the absence of an agreement under this section.

(f) An offense under Subsection (e) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200.