83R6288 JTS-F
By: Watson S.B. No. 1793
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to remedies for nonpayment of tolls of Texas Department of
Transportation toll projects; authorizing a fee and certain
investigative and court costs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 228, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 228.060, 228.061, and 228.062 to read
as follows:
Sec. 228.060. PUBLICATION OF NONPAYING VEHICLE
INFORMATION. Notwithstanding the confidentiality of electronic
toll collection customer account information under Section
228.057(e), the department may publish a list of the names of the
registered owners or lessees of nonpaying vehicles who at the time
of publication are liable for the payment of a past due and unpaid
toll or administrative fee. The list may include only the persons'
names and, for each person listed:
(1) the city and state of the person's residence;
(2) the total number of events of nonpayment under
Section 228.054 or 228.0545; and
(3) the total amount due for the tolls and
administrative fees.
Sec. 228.061. TOLL VIOLATION PAYMENT PLAN. The department
may enter into an agreement with the registered owner of a vehicle
allowing the person to pay the total amount of outstanding tolls and
administrative fees over a specified period. The agreement must be
in writing and specify the amount due for tolls and administrative
fees, the duration of the agreement, and the amount of each payment.
Sec. 228.062. DEFAULT; SUIT TO RECOVER OUTSTANDING BALANCE
DUE. (a) If the registered owner of the vehicle fails to comply
with the terms of an agreement described by Section 228.061, the
department may send by first class mail to the person at the address
shown on the agreement a written notice demanding payment of the
outstanding balance due.
(b) If the registered owner fails to pay the outstanding
balance due on or before the 30th day after the date on which the
notice is mailed, the department may refer the matter to the
attorney general for suit or collection.
(c) The attorney general may file suit in a district court
in Travis County to recover the outstanding balance due. The
attorney general may recover reasonable attorney's fees,
investigative costs, and court costs incurred on behalf of the
department in the proceeding in the same manner as provided by
general law for a private litigant.
SECTION 2. Chapter 228, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. HABITUAL VIOLATOR REMEDIES
Sec. 228.301. HABITUAL VIOLATOR. (a) For purposes of this
subchapter, a habitual violator is a registered owner of a vehicle
who the department determines:
(1) was issued at least two written notices of
nonpayment in accordance with Section 228.055 for 100 or more
events of nonpayment under Section 228.054 or 228.0545 within a
period of one year; and
(2) has not paid in full the total amount due for tolls
and administrative fees under those notices.
(b) If the department makes a determination under
Subsection (a), the department shall give written notice to the
person at:
(1) the person's address as shown in the vehicle
registration records of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles or
the analogous department or agency of another state or country; or
(2) an alternate address provided by the person or
derived through other reliable means.
(c) The notice must:
(1) be sent by first class mail and is presumed
received on the fifth day after the date the notice is mailed; and
(2) state:
(A) the total number of events of nonpayment
under Section 228.054 or 228.0545 and the total amount due for tolls
and administrative fees;
(B) the date of the determination under
Subsection (a);
(C) the right of the person to request a hearing
on the determination; and
(D) the procedure for requesting a hearing,
including the period during which the request must be made.
(d) If not later than the 30th day after the date on which
the person is presumed to have received the notice the department
receives a written request for a hearing, a hearing shall be held as
provided by Section 228.302. A hearing request received within the
period provided by this subsection stays the effect of the
department's determination until the date of the final decision of
the justice of the peace under Section 228.302.
(e) If the person does not request a hearing within the
period provided by Subsection (d), the department's determination
becomes final on the expiration of that period.
Sec. 228.302. HEARING. (a) A justice court has
jurisdiction to conduct a hearing in accordance with this section.
(b) A hearing requested under Section 228.301 shall be
conducted in a justice court:
(1) in the county in which the toll collection
facilities where the events of nonpayment occurred are located; or
(2) if events of nonpayment occurred in more than one
county, the county in which the toll collection facilities where a
majority of the events of nonpayment occurred are located.
(c) The justice of the peace is entitled to receive a fee not
to exceed $100 for conducting the hearing. The party that does not
prevail under the justice's finding under Subsection (f) is liable
for payment of the fee.
(d) The issues that must be proven at the hearing by a
preponderance of the evidence are:
(1) whether the registered owner was issued at least
two written notices of nonpayment in accordance with Section
228.055 for 100 or more events of nonpayment under Section 228.054
or 228.0545 within a period of one year; and
(2) whether the total amount due for tolls and
administrative fees specified in those notices was not paid in full
by the dates specified in the notices and remains not fully paid.
(e) Proof under Subsection (d) may be by oral testimony,
documentary evidence, video surveillance, or any other reasonable
evidence.
(f) If the justice of the peace finds in the affirmative on
each issue in Subsection (d), the department's determination that
the registered owner is a habitual violator is sustained and
becomes final. If the justice does not find in the affirmative on
each issue in Subsection (d), the department shall rescind its
determination under Section 228.301. Rescission of the
determination under Section 228.301 does not limit the department's
authority to pursue collection of the outstanding tolls and
administrative fees in accordance with Section 228.055.
(g) A registered owner who requests a hearing and fails to
appear without just cause waives the right to a hearing and the
department's determination is final.
Sec. 228.303. APPEAL. (a) A registered owner may appeal the
justice of the peace's decision by filing a petition not later than
the 30th day after the date on which the decision is rendered:
(1) in the county court at law of the county in which
the justice of the peace precinct is located; or
(2) if there is no county court at law in that county,
in the county court.
(b) The registered owner must send a file-stamped copy of
the petition, certified by the clerk of the court, to the department
by certified mail.
(c) The court shall notify the department of the hearing not
later than the 31st day before the date the court sets for the
hearing.
(d) A trial on appeal is a trial de novo.
Sec. 228.304. PERIOD DETERMINATION IS EFFECTIVE. (a) A
final determination under Section 228.301 or 228.302 that a person
is a habitual violator remains in effect until:
(1) the total amount due for the person's tolls and
administrative fees is paid; or
(2) the department, in its sole discretion, determines
that the amount has been otherwise addressed.
(b) When a determination terminates, the department
immediately shall send notice of the termination:
(1) to the registered owner who is the subject of the
determination; and
(2) if the department provided notice to a county
assessor-collector or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles under
Section 502.011, to that county assessor-collector or the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles, as appropriate.
Sec. 228.305. DENIAL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION. After a
final determination under Section 228.301 or 228.302 that the
registered owner of the vehicle is a habitual violator, the
department may report the determination to a county-assessor
collector or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in order to
cause the denial of registration of the owner's vehicle, as
provided by Section 502.011.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 502.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 502.011. REFUSAL TO REGISTER VEHICLE FOR NONPAYMENT OF
TOLL OR ADMINISTRATIVE FEE. A county assessor-collector or the
department shall refuse to register or renew the registration of a
motor vehicle if the county assessor-collector or department has
received written notice from the Texas Department of Transportation
that the owner of the vehicle has been finally determined to be a
habitual violator under Section 228.301 or 228.302 and has not
received notice that the determination has terminated.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 103.0321 to read as follows:
Sec. 103.0321. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS: TRANSPORTATION
CODE. A reasonable fee not to exceed $100 may be collected under
Section 228.302(c), Transportation Code, as court costs for
determining whether a person is a habitual violator for purposes of
Subchapter G, Chapter 228, Transportation Code.
SECTION 5. In making a determination that a person is a
habitual violator under Section 228.301(a), Transportation Code,
as added by this Act, the Texas Department of Transportation may
include consideration of any events of nonpayment under Section
228.054 or 228.0545, Transportation Code, including events of
nonpayment that occurred before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.