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  S.B. No. 469
 
 
 
 
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) through (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.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 469 passed the Senate on
  April 14, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 27, 2011, by the
  following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 469 passed the House, with
  amendment, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 142,
  Nays 0, one present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor