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.