85R11116 AJZ-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 3259
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of penalties imposed by a local
authority using a photographic traffic signal enforcement system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 707.007, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 707.007. AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTY; LATE PAYMENT
PENALTY. (a) If a local authority enacts an ordinance to enforce
compliance with the instructions of a traffic-control signal by the
imposition of a civil [or administrative] penalty, the amount of:
(1) the civil [or administrative] penalty may not
exceed $75; and
(2) a late payment penalty may not exceed $25.
(b) The county attorney for the county or the municipal
attorney for the municipality in which the violation is alleged to
have occurred may bring suit to collect the civil penalty.
SECTION 2. Section 707.008(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A local authority may retain an amount necessary to
cover the costs of:
(1) purchasing or leasing equipment that is part of or
used in connection with the photographic traffic signal enforcement
system in the local authority;
(2) installing the photographic traffic signal
enforcement system at sites in the local authority, including the
costs of installing cameras, flashes, computer equipment, loop
sensors, detectors, utility lines, data lines, poles and mounts,
networking equipment, and associated labor costs;
(3) operating the photographic traffic signal
enforcement system in the local authority, including the costs of
creating, distributing, and delivering violation notices, review
of violations conducted by employees of the local authority, and
the processing of fine payments and collections[, and the costs
associated with administrative adjudications and appeals]; and
(4) maintaining the general upkeep and functioning of
the photographic traffic signal enforcement system.
SECTION 3. Section 707.011(c), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The notice of violation must contain:
(1) a description of the violation alleged;
(2) the location of the intersection where the
violation occurred;
(3) the date and time of the violation;
(4) the name and address of the owner of the vehicle
involved in the violation;
(5) the registration number displayed on the license
plate of the vehicle involved in the violation;
(6) a copy of a recorded image of the violation limited
solely to a depiction of the area of the registration number
displayed on the license plate of the vehicle involved in the
violation;
(7) the amount of the civil penalty for which the owner
is liable;
(8) the number of days the person has in which to pay
or contest the imposition of the civil penalty and a statement that
the person incurs a late payment penalty if the civil penalty is not
paid or imposition of the penalty is not contested within that
period;
(9) a statement that the owner of the vehicle in the
notice of violation may elect to pay the civil penalty by mail sent
to a specified address instead of contesting the imposition of the
civil penalty in court [appearing at the time and place of the
administrative adjudication hearing]; and
(10) information that informs the owner of the vehicle
named in the notice of violation[:
[(A)] of the owner's right to contest the
imposition of the civil penalty against the person in court
following procedures generally applicable in civil courts [an
administrative adjudication hearing;
[(B) that imposition of the civil penalty may be
contested by submitting a written request for an administrative
adjudication hearing before the expiration of the period specified
under Subdivision (8); and
[(C) that failure to pay the civil penalty or to
contest liability for the penalty in a timely manner is an admission
of liability and a waiver of the owner's right to appeal the
imposition of the civil penalty].
SECTION 4. Sections 707.013(c) and (e), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The [Notwithstanding Section 707.014, the] presentation
of evidence under Subsection (b) by a person who is in the business
of selling, renting, or leasing motor vehicles or did not own the
vehicle at the time of the violation must be made by affidavit [,
through testimony at the administrative adjudication hearing under
Section 707.014,] or by a written declaration under penalty of
perjury. The affidavit or written declaration may be submitted by
mail to the local authority [or the entity with which the local
authority contracts under Section 707.003(a)(1)].
(e) If, at the time of the violation alleged in the notice of
violation, the motor vehicle depicted in the photograph or digital
image taken by the photographic traffic signal enforcement system
was owned by a person in the business of renting or leasing motor
vehicles and the vehicle was being rented or leased to an
individual, the owner of the motor vehicle shall provide to the
local authority [or the entity with which the local authority
contracts under Section 707.003(a)(1)] the name and address of the
individual who was renting or leasing the motor vehicle depicted in
the photograph or digital image and a statement of the period during
which that individual was renting or leasing the vehicle. The owner
shall provide the information required by this subsection not later
than the 30th day after the date the notice of violation is
received. If the owner provides the required information, it is
presumed that the individual renting or leasing the motor vehicle
committed the violation alleged in the notice of violation and the
local authority or contractor may send a notice of violation to that
individual at the address provided by the owner of the motor
vehicle.
SECTION 5. Sections 707.009, 707.012, 707.014, 707.015, and
707.016, Transportation Code, are repealed.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.