83R9673 JTS-F
By: Paxton S.B. No. 1329
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to remedies for nonpayment of regional tollway authority
tolls.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 366.178(d-2) and (g), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(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:
(1) must specify the date by which payment must be
made;
(2) [and] may require payment of:
(A) [(1)] the amount included in the second
notice of nonpayment; and
(B) [(2)] any third-party collection service
fees incurred by the authority; and
(3) must include a warning that the failure to pay the
amounts specified in the notice may result in the authority's
exercise of habitual violator remedies under Subchapter I.
(g) The court of the local jurisdiction in which the unpaid
toll was assessed may assess and collect the fine in addition to any
court costs. The court may [shall] collect the unpaid tolls,
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] and forward the tolls and fees 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.]
SECTION 2. Chapter 366, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. HABITUAL VIOLATOR REMEDIES
Sec. 366.451. NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SEEK ADMINISTRATIVE
DECISION REGARDING HABITUAL VIOLATOR REMEDIES. (a) An authority
may seek an administrative decision to determine whether habitual
violator remedies under this subchapter may be exercised against
the registered owner of a vehicle if the authority sends to the
owner:
(1) one or more third notices of nonpayment containing
the warning under Section 366.178(d-2)(3) indicating that a vehicle
or vehicles of the owner incurred 100 or more tolls that were not
paid in full by the dates specified in the notices and that remain
not fully paid; and
(2) notice of the authority's intent to seek an
administrative decision by first class mail to:
(A) the last address of the owner known to the
authority; or
(B) the owner's address as recorded in the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles vehicle registration records.
(b) A notice issued under Subsection (a)(2) must:
(1) include the total amount of unpaid tolls and fees
not paid in full as specified in one or more third notices of
nonpayment; and
(2) advise the registered owner that:
(A) the registered owner is entitled to a hearing
under Section 366.452 to contest a proposed administrative
decision; and
(B) the authority may exercise habitual violator
remedies against the owner if the administrative decision
authorizes the exercise of those remedies, and the administrative
decision will remain in effect until all unpaid tolls and fees owed
to the authority by the owner are paid or are otherwise addressed to
the satisfaction of the authority in the authority's sole
discretion.
Sec. 366.452. HEARING. (a) A registered owner may, not
later than the 30th day after the date of the notice under Section
366.451, request a hearing on the issue of whether the authority may
exercise habitual violator remedies.
(b) An authority shall adopt rules for a hearing under this
section. The rules must:
(1) specify issues that are germane to a hearing;
(2) include reasonable rules of procedure;
(3) include the process through which an
administrative decision is issued;
(4) prohibit an administrative decision from going
into effect before the opportunity for a hearing has expired;
(5) require that a hearing officer be an independent
contractor retained by the authority solely to serve as a hearing
officer;
(6) prohibit compensation of the hearing officer by
the authority that is related to the outcome of the hearings before
the hearing officer;
(7) provide that the registered owner has a right to:
(A) be represented by an attorney; and
(B) offer witnesses and evidence, cross-examine
witnesses, and make opening and closing statements; and
(8) vest the hearing officer with discretion to
control the scope and duration of the proceedings and to exclude
oral or written evidence that the hearing officer determines is
irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious.
(c) A registered owner who fails to request a hearing within
the time specified under Subsection (a) or appear at a scheduled
hearing is considered to have waived the right to a hearing and
consented to the administrative decision, and:
(1) the hearing officer shall issue an administrative
decision authorizing the exercise of habitual violator remedies
under this subchapter if the hearing officer makes the findings
described by Section 366.453(a); and
(2) if the hearing officer issues an administrative
decision authorizing the exercise of habitual violator remedies,
the authority may exercise the habitual violator remedies without
further proceedings or action.
Sec. 366.453. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION. (a) A hearing
officer may issue an administrative decision authorizing the
authority to exercise habitual violator remedies only if a
preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that:
(1) one or more third notices of nonpayment containing
the warning under Section 366.178(d-2)(3) were sent to the
registered owner indicating that a vehicle or vehicles of the owner
incurred 100 or more unpaid authority tolls, not including any
unpaid tolls for which the defense of theft of the vehicle has been
proven under Section 366.178(h);
(2) the vehicle or vehicles were owned by the
registered owner at the time of passage through a toll assessment
facility; and
(3) the amounts in the third notice or notices of
nonpayment were not paid in full by the dates specified in the
notices and remain not fully paid.
(b) Proof under Subsection (a) may be by testimony of a
peace officer or authority employee, video surveillance, or any
other reasonable evidence.
Sec. 366.454. APPEAL. (a) A registered owner may appeal an
administrative decision authorizing the exercise of habitual
violator remedies by:
(1) filing, not later than the 30th day after the date
on which the decision is rendered, a petition with the clerk of a
district court in the county in which the authority's
administrative offices are located; and
(2) paying the costs required by law for that court.
(b) The court in which an appeal petition is filed shall
schedule a hearing and notify each party of the date, time, and
place of the hearing.
(c) Neither the filing of the appeal petition nor service of
notice of the appeal stays the authority's exercise of the habitual
violator remedies unless the person who files the appeal posts a
bond with the authority issued by a sufficient surety in the total
amount of unpaid tolls and fees owed by the registered owner to the
authority.
Sec. 366.455. HABITUAL VIOLATOR REMEDY: REFUSAL TO REGISTER
VEHICLE. (a) An authority may request that a county
assessor-collector or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles refuse
under Section 502.010 to register any vehicle that is owned by a
person subject to an administrative decision authorizing the
exercise of habitual violator remedies by the authority.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a vehicle is
considered to be owned by a person if the person holds legal title
to the vehicle, regardless of whether the person obtains legal
title before or after an administrative decision is issued.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 502.010, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.010. COUNTY SCOFFLAW OR TOLLWAY HABITUAL VIOLATOR.
SECTION 4. Section 502.010, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (g) and adding
Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(a) A county assessor-collector or the department may
refuse to register a motor vehicle if the assessor-collector or the
department receives information that the owner of the vehicle:
(1) owes the county money for a fine, fee, or tax that
is past due; [or]
(2) failed to appear in connection with a complaint,
citation, information, or indictment in a court in the county in
which a criminal proceeding is pending against the owner; or
(3) is subject to an administrative decision under
Section 366.453 that authorizes the use of habitual violator
remedies by the authority against the owner.
(b) A county may contract with the department to provide
information to the department necessary to make a determination
under Subsections (a)(1) and (2) [Subsection (a)]. A regional
tollway authority may contract with a county or the department to
provide information necessary to make a determination under
Subsection (a)(3).
(c-1) A regional tollway authority that has a contract under
Subsection (b) shall notify a county assessor-collector or the
department, as applicable, that a person for whom the
assessor-collector or the department has refused to register a
vehicle is no longer subject to an administrative decision under
Section 366.453.
(d) After notice is received under Subsection (c) or (c-1),
the county assessor-collector or the department may not refuse to
register the motor vehicle under Subsection (a).
(g) In this section:
(1) a fine, fee, or tax owed to a county is considered
past due if it is unpaid 90 or more days after the date it is due;
and
(2) registration of a motor vehicle includes renewal
of the registration of the vehicle.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.