By: Nelson, Davis S.B. No. 469
Harris
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the collection of unpaid tolls by a regional tollway
authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 366.003, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (10-a) to read as follows:
(10-a) "Toll assessment facility" means a location on
a turnpike project where a vehicle that is driven or towed through
the facility is assessed a toll for the use of the project.
SECTION 2. Section 366.178, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) through (g), (i), and (i-1) and adding
Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), (b-4), (d-1), (d-2), (d-3), and
(f-1) to read as follows:
(a) A motor vehicle other than an authorized emergency
vehicle, as defined by Section 541.201, that passes through a toll
assessment [collection] facility, whether driven or towed, shall
pay the proper toll. The exemption from payment of a toll for an
authorized emergency vehicle applies regardless of whether the
vehicle is:
(1) responding to an emergency;
(2) displaying a flashing light; or
(3) marked as a police or emergency vehicle.
(b) A person who fails or refuses to pay a toll provided for
the use of a project is liable for a fine not to exceed $250, plus
any [an] administrative fees [fee] incurred in connection with the
violation.
(b-1) As an alternative to requiring payment of a toll at
the time a vehicle is driven or towed through a toll assessment
facility, the authority may use video recordings, photography,
electronic data, transponders, or other tolling methods to permit
the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle to pay the toll at a
later date.
(b-2) If the authority does not collect the proper toll at
the time a vehicle is driven or towed through a toll assessment
facility, the authority may send an invoice by first class mail to
the registered owner of the vehicle not later than the 30th day
after the date the vehicle is driven or towed through the facility.
The invoice may include one or more tolls the registered owner of
the nonpaying vehicle failed to pay for use of the project and must
specify the date by which the toll or tolls must be paid. Except as
provided by Subsection (b-3), the registered owner shall pay the
unpaid tolls included in the invoice not later than the 30th day
after the date the invoice is mailed.
(b-3) If the address to which the invoice issued under
Subsection (b-2) is mailed to the registered owner is determined to
be incorrect, the registered owner shall pay the invoice not later
than the 30th day after the date the invoice is mailed to the
correct address.
(b-4) If the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle fails
to pay the unpaid tolls included in the invoice mailed under
Subsection (b-2) or (b-3) by the date specified in the invoice, the
authority shall send the first notice of nonpayment by first class
mail to the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle as provided by
Subsection (d).
(c) On [If a person fails to pay the proper toll:
[(1) on] issuance of the first [a] notice of
nonpayment, the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle shall pay
both the unpaid tolls included in the invoice and an [the proper
toll and the] administrative fee. The authority may charge only one
administrative fee of not more than $25 for the first notice of
nonpayment that is sent to the registered owner of the nonpaying
vehicle[; and
[(2) an authority may charge an administrative fee of
not more than $100 to recover the cost of collecting the unpaid
toll].
(d) Unless an authority requires additional time to send a
notice of nonpayment because of events outside the authority's
reasonable control, the authority shall send the first notice of
nonpayment not later than the 30th day after the date the 30-day
period expires for the registered owner to pay the invoice issued
under Subsection (b-2) or (b-3). The first notice [Notice] of
nonpayment [under Subsection (c)(1)] shall [be sent by first-class
mail and may not] require payment of the unpaid tolls included in
the invoice [the proper toll] and the administrative fee before the
30th day after the date the first notice of nonpayment is mailed.
[The registered owner shall pay a separate toll and administrative
fee for each nonpayment.]
(d-1) If the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle fails
to pay the unpaid tolls and the administrative fee by the date
specified in the first notice of nonpayment, the authority shall
send a second notice of nonpayment by first class mail to the
registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle. The second notice of
nonpayment must specify the date by which payment must be made and
may include an invoice for:
(1) the unpaid tolls and administrative fee included
in the first notice of nonpayment; and
(2) an additional administrative fee of not more than
$25 for each unpaid toll included in the notice, not to exceed a
total of $200.
(d-2) If the registered owner of the nonpaying vehicle fails
to pay the amount included in the second notice of nonpayment by the
date specified in that notice, the authority shall send a third
notice of nonpayment by first class mail to the registered owner of
the nonpaying vehicle. The third notice of nonpayment must specify
the date by which payment must be made and may include an invoice
for:
(1) the amount included in the second notice of
nonpayment; and
(2) any third-party collection service fees incurred
by the authority.
(d-3) The authority may contract, in accordance with
Section 2107.003, Government Code, with a person to collect unpaid
tolls and administrative fees before referring the matter to a
court with jurisdiction over the offense.
(e) If the registered owner of the vehicle fails to pay the
third notice of nonpayment by the date [proper toll and
administrative fee in the time] specified in [by] the notice, the
owner may [shall] be cited by the Department of Public Safety as for
other traffic violations as provided by law, and the owner shall pay
a fine of not more than $250 for each nonpayment of a toll.
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), in [In] the
prosecution of a violation for nonpayment, proof that the vehicle
passed through a toll assessment [collection] facility and that the
applicable toll was not paid before the date specified in the third
notice of nonpayment, [without payment of the proper toll] together
with proof that the defendant was the registered owner or the driver
of the vehicle when the failure to pay occurred, establishes the
nonpayment of the registered owner. The proof may be by testimony
of a peace officer or authority employee, video surveillance, or
any other reasonable evidence, including a copy of the rental,
lease, or other contract document or the electronic data provided
to the authority under Subsection (i) that shows the defendant was
the lessee of the vehicle when the underlying event of nonpayment
occurred.
(f-1) Nonpayment by the registered owner of the vehicle may
be established by:
(1) a copy of a written agreement between the
authority and the registered owner for the payment of unpaid tolls
and administrative fees; and
(2) evidence that the registered owner is in default
under the agreement.
(g) The court of the local jurisdiction in which the
violation occurs may assess and collect the fine in addition to any
court costs. The court shall collect the unpaid tolls, [proper toll
and] administrative fees, and third-party collection service fees
incurred by the authority on or before the fines and court costs are
collected by the court [fee] and forward the toll and fees [fee] to
the authority. Payment of the unpaid tolls, administrative fees,
and third-party collection service fees by the registered owner may
not be waived by the court unless the court finds that the
registered owner of the vehicle is indigent.
(i) A registered owner who is the lessor of a vehicle for
which an invoice is mailed under Subsection (b-2) or (b-3) [a notice
of nonpayment has been issued] is not liable if, not later than the
30th day after the date the invoice [notice of nonpayment] is
mailed, the registered owner provides to the authority:
(1) a copy of the rental, lease, or other contract
document covering the vehicle on the date of the nonpayment, with
the name and address of the lessee clearly legible; or
(2) electronic data, other than a photocopy or scan of
a rental or lease contract, that contains the information required
under Sections 521.460(c)(1), (2), and (3) covering the vehicle on
the date of the nonpayment under this section.
(i-1) If the lessor timely provides the required
information under Subsection (i), the lessee of the vehicle on the
date of the violation is considered to be the registered owner of
the vehicle for purposes of this section, and the authority shall
follow the procedures provided by this section as if the lessee were
the registered owner of the vehicle, including sending an invoice[.
The lessee is subject to prosecution for failure to pay the proper
toll if the authority sends a notice of nonpayment] to the lessee by
first-class mail not later than the 30th day after the date of the
receipt of the information from the lessor.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.