March 13, 2006 -- The El Paso county tax assessor-collector said temporary cardboard tags are issued by car dealers to customers, but can easily be counterfeited. The tags can also be altered by using a marker or White-Out.

"I can go and buy a counterfeit license plate for $20. I can put it in my car and drive it forever and ever," said David Marquez, the enforcement director for the county tax assessor-collector's office.

The county tax assessor-collector said the biggest concern is that once the cardboard tags are placed on the vehicle, there's no way for law enforcement agencies to trace the vehicle. State officials believe terrorists can use these to hide their identity.

The problem has now caught the attention of the state legislature, which has ordered that the Texas Department of Transportation conduct a study on how significant the problem is and how to fix it.

The state is studying an electronic tag system that would keep the vehicle owner's name in a database, which officials feel would considerably cut down the amount of counterfeiting.

Licensed dealers would go to a state-secured website, record and enter the vehicles they are selling, then print out the cardboard tags.

However, until then, the state will implement a temporary solution.

Starting on May 1, Marquez said the state will place a control number on issued license plates.