AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After raising concerns publicly for weeks over a new law that will eliminate temporary paper license plates next year -- tied to widespread fraud and crime -- only KXAN was there when a group representing 1,400 car dealerships came face-to-face at the Capitol with law enforcement who backed the bill. "I'm not going to talk to you," Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) Executive Vice President Karen Phillips told KXAN after leaving the closed-door meeting at the office of Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, on Thursday. The meeting was set by Canales, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, after Phillips urged lawmakers last month to take another look at House Bill 718. The law is set to replace temporary paper license plates with metal ones in July. "I would encourage you to look at these issues as to whether we’ve gone forward and not backwards," she told the committee on Oct. 10. Karen Phillips, right, walks into a private meeting at the Capitol. (KXAN Photo/Morganne Bailey) Standing inside an elevator door at the Capitol, KXAN asked Phillips if she wants to see that law repealed next year. "I never said that," she said, as the doors closed. RISKY RIDES: Explore KXAN's years-long investigation into Texas' paper tag problem Sgt. Jose Escribano with the Travis County Constable's Office Pct. 3 attended the meeting with a delegation of law enforcement from around the state that pushed for the law. The group wants to see it through citing paper tags' ties to rampant fraud and crime. For years, KXAN has investigated how phony paper tags can turn getaway vehicles into "ghost cars." Sgt. Jose Escribano holds a copy of HB 718 in front of Rep. Terry Canales' office following a private meeting at the Capitol. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant) Among those in attendance: Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney, whose officer was killed in 2022 pursuing a suspect with a fake paper tag. Allen Police, the Burnet County Constable's Office and the Texas Police Chiefs Association were also represented, according to those in attendance. Escribano described the meeting as going "really well." Still, he remains concerned about potential efforts to try to change, or amend, the law next year. The chair of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board even acknowledged recently that this issue will "without a doubt" be debated during the upcoming legislative session. "We left the door open if they want to have discussions," said Escribano, one of the leading experts in the state on paper tag fraud who pushed for HB 718. That bill was introduced by former Republican State Rep. Craig Goldman. This week, Goldman was elected to Congress. So far, he has not commented on TADA's concerns. "However, we made it clear, 718 is the law," Escribano added, holding up a signed copy of the law. "We want this law to go into effect. Give it a chance." TADA expressed two main concerns privately that it also raised publicly, Escribano said. First, that criminals will switch to metal tag fraud. Second, that the dealership industry will not have enough metal plates on hand after the law takes effect. "In the last four years, all the burglaries, all the killings, everything that we have seen has been paper tags not metal plates," Escribano said, noting it is easier for criminals to produce phony paper plates. Regarding TADA's inventory management concerns, Escribano said that "doesn't concern" law enforcement "at all." "You have managerial concerns? Great. Bring 'em up to the DMV," he said. "Bring 'em up if you want to. Go do that. But these tags have to go."