89R4886 MZM-D
By: Middleton S.B. No. 756
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to repealing certain offenses involving toll violations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 228.0547, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 228.0547. PAYMENT OF TOLL INVOICE[; OFFENSE].
SECTION 2. Section 228.0547(e), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) The department may contract, in accordance with Section
2107.003, Government Code, with a person to collect the unpaid toll
and any applicable administrative fee [before referring the matter
to a court with jurisdiction over the offense].
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 284.070, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 284.070. EXEMPTION FOR AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES
[NONPAYMENT OF TOLL; OFFENSE].
SECTION 4. Section 284.204(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A hearing procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must
provide:
(1) a period for a person charged with violating the
order:
(A) to pay the toll or charge plus administrative
costs authorized by Section [Sections] 284.202 [and 284.2031]; or
(B) to request a hearing;
(2) for appointment of one or more hearing officers
with authority to administer oaths and issue orders compelling the
attendance of witnesses and the production of documents; and
(3) for the amount and disposition of civil fines,
costs, and fees.
SECTION 5. Section 284.206(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A person may establish that the person did not violate
[It is a defense to prosecution under] this subchapter by
presenting evidence that the vehicle in question was stolen before
the failure to pay the proper toll occurred and had not been
recovered before the failure to pay occurred, but only if the theft
was reported to the appropriate law enforcement authority before
the earlier of:
(1) the occurrence of the failure to pay; or
(2) eight hours after the discovery of the theft.
SECTION 6. Section 284.209, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 284.209. ENFORCEMENT OF DECISION. A decision issued
under Section 284.208(a) may be enforced by:
(1) placing a device that prohibits movement of a
motor vehicle on the vehicle that is the subject of the decision; or
(2) imposing an additional fine if the fine for the
violation [offense] is not paid within a specified time[; or
[(3) refusing to allow the registration of the
vehicle].
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 370.177, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 370.177. FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO PAY TURNPIKE PROJECT
TOLL; [OFFENSE;] ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
SECTION 8. Sections 370.177(a), (e), (e-1), (f), and (j),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the operator of
a vehicle, other than an authorized emergency vehicle as defined by
Section 541.201, that is driven or towed through a toll collection
facility of a turnpike project shall pay the proper toll. [The
operator of a vehicle who drives or tows a vehicle through a toll
collection facility and does not pay the proper toll commits an
offense. An offense under this subsection is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.] 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 an emergency vehicle.
(e) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b)
[or (d)] that the registered owner of the vehicle is a lessor of the
vehicle and not later than the 30th day after the date the notice of
nonpayment is mailed provides to the authority:
(1) a copy of the rental, lease, or other contract
document covering the vehicle on the date of the nonpayment under
Subsection (a), 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 Subsection (a).
(e-1) If the lessor provides the required information
within the period prescribed under Subsection (e), the authority
may send a notice of nonpayment to the lessee at the address
provided under Subsection (e) by first class mail before the 30th
day after the date of receipt of the required information from the
lessor. [The lessee of the vehicle for which the proper toll was
not paid who is mailed a written notice of nonpayment under this
subsection and fails to pay the proper toll and administrative fee
within the time specified by the notice of nonpayment commits an
offense. The lessee shall pay a separate toll and administrative
fee for each event of nonpayment. Each failure to pay a toll or
administrative fee under this subsection is a separate offense.]
(f) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b)
[or (d)] that the registered owner of the vehicle transferred
ownership of the vehicle to another person before the event of
nonpayment under Subsection (a) occurred, submitted written notice
of the transfer to the department in accordance with Section
501.147, and before the 30th day after the date the notice of
nonpayment is mailed, provides to the authority the name and
address of the person to whom the vehicle was transferred. If the
former owner of the vehicle provides the required information
within the period prescribed, the authority may send a notice of
nonpayment to the person to whom ownership of the vehicle was
transferred at the address provided by the former owner by first
class mail before the 30th day after the date of receipt of the
required information from the former owner. [The subsequent owner
of the vehicle for which the proper toll was not paid who is mailed a
written notice of nonpayment under this subsection and fails to pay
the proper toll and administrative fee within the time specified by
the notice of nonpayment commits an offense. The subsequent owner
shall pay a separate toll and administrative fee for each event of
nonpayment under Subsection (a). Each failure to pay a toll or
administrative fee under this subsection is a separate offense.]
(j) A person may establish that the person did not violate
[It is a defense to prosecution under] this section by presenting
evidence that the motor vehicle in question was stolen before the
failure to pay the proper toll occurred and was not recovered by the
time of the failure to pay, but only if the theft was reported to the
appropriate law enforcement authority before the earlier of:
(1) the occurrence of the failure to pay; or
(2) eight hours after the discovery of the theft.
SECTION 9. The heading to Section 372.110, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 372.110. ORDER PROHIBITING OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE
ON TOLL PROJECT [; OFFENSE].
SECTION 10. The following provisions of the Transportation
Code are repealed:
(1) Sections 228.0547(c) and (d);
(2) Section 228.056;
(3) Sections 284.070(a), (b), (c), and (d);
(4) Section 284.0701;
(5) Section 284.0702;
(6) Section 284.203;
(7) Section 284.2031;
(8) Section 284.207;
(9) Sections 370.177(d), (g), (h), and (i);
(10) Sections 372.105(c), (d), (e), and (f);
(11) Section 372.110(d);
(12) Section 372.111; and
(13) Section 502.011.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a toll incurred on or after the effective date of this Act. A
toll incurred before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the toll was incurred, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.