82R23290 ACP-D
By: Nelson, et al. S.B. No. 469
(Patrick)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 469: No.
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), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i), and
(i-1) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), (b-4), (d-1),
(d-2), 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 shall 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 shall send an invoice by first class mail to
the registered owner of the vehicle. The invoice may include one or
more tolls assessed by the authority for use of the project by the
nonpaying vehicle 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). If an authority requires
additional time as provided by this subsection, the authority must
send the notice not later than the 60th 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 require payment of:
(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 require payment of:
(1) the amount included in the second notice of
nonpayment; and
(2) any third-party collection service fees incurred
by the authority.
(e) If the registered owner of the vehicle fails to pay the
amount included in 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 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
amount included in the third notice of nonpayment was not paid
before the date specified in the notice, [without payment of the
proper toll] together with proof that the defendant was the
registered owner or the driver of the vehicle when the unpaid toll
was assessed [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 unpaid toll was assessed [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 unpaid
toll was assessed [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 date the fines and court costs are collected by the court
[fee] and forward the tolls [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 the unpaid toll was
assessed [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 the unpaid toll was assessed [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 the unpaid toll was assessed [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. Section 366.178, Transportation Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to a vehicle that is driven or towed
through a toll assessment facility, as defined by Section 366.003,
Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the
effective date of this Act. A toll that is assessed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the vehicle was driven or towed through a toll assessment
facility, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.