HB1333 - Relating to toll collection and enforcement by toll project entities; authorizing an administrative fee; imposing a civil penalty.

      By: Harrison H.B. No. 1333       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to toll collection and enforcement by toll project   entities; authorizing an administrative fee; imposing a civil   penalty.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:   ARTICLE 1. PAYMENT OF TOLLS          SECTION 1.01.  Chapter 372, Transportation Code, is amended   by adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER B-1. TOLL COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT           Sec.   372.071.     DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "registered   owner" means an owner as defined by Section 502.001.           Sec.   372.072.     TOLL PAYMENT REQUIRED; EMERGENCY VEHICLES   EXEMPT. (a) 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 toll project 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 an emergency vehicle.           (b)     Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a toll project entity   may waive the requirement of the payment of a toll or may authorize   the payment of a reduced toll for any vehicle or class of vehicles.           Sec.   372.073.     TOLL NOT PAID AT TIME OF USE; INVOICE. (a)   As   an alternative to requiring payment of a toll at the time a vehicle   is driven or towed through a toll collection facility, a toll   project entity shall use video billing or other tolling methods to   permit the registered owner of the vehicle to pay the toll at a   later date.           (b)     A toll project entity may use automated enforcement   technology, including video recordings, photography, electronic   data, and transponders, or other tolling methods to identify the   registered owner of the vehicle for purposes of billing,   collection, and enforcement activities.           (c)     A toll project entity shall send by first class mail to   the registered owner of a vehicle a written invoice containing an   assessment for tolls incurred by the vehicle.           (d)     A toll project entity shall send the invoice required   under Subsection (c) and related communications to:                 (1)     the registered owner'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 owner or   derived through other reliable means.           (e)     A toll project entity may provide that the invoice   required under Subsection (c), instead of being sent by first class   mail, be sent as an electronic record to a registered owner that   agrees to the terms of the electronic record transmission of the   information.           (f)     A toll project entity that sends an initial invoice   required under Subsection (c) may not assess an additional fee   other than a postage fee to the amount owed by the owner of the   vehicle.           Sec.   372.074.     INVOICE REQUIREMENTS; PAYMENT DUE DATE. An   invoice containing an assessment for the use of a toll project   must:                 (1)     require payment not later than the 30th day after   the date the invoice is mailed; and                 (2)  conspicuously state:                       (A)  the amount due;                       (B)  the date by which the amount due must be paid;                       (C)     that failure to pay the amount due in the   required period will result in the assessment of an administrative   fee; and                       (D)     that failure to pay two or more invoices will   result in a civil penalty.           Sec.   372.075.     PAYMENT OF TOLL INVOICE; ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.   (a) A person who receives an invoice under this subchapter for the   use of a toll project shall, not later than the due date specified   in the invoice:                 (1)  pay the amount owed as stated in the invoice; or                 (2)     send a written request to the toll project entity   for a review of the toll assessments contained in the invoice.           (b)     If a person fails to comply with Subsection (a), a toll   project entity may add an administrative fee, not to exceed $6, to   the amount the person owes. The toll project entity:                 (1)     must set the administrative fee by rule in an   amount that does not exceed the cost of collecting the toll; and                 (2)     may not charge a person more than $48 in   administrative fees in a 12-month period.           (c)     A toll project entity other than a county under Chapter   284 may contract, in accordance with Section 2107.003, Government   Code, with a person to collect unpaid tolls and any applicable   administrative fees from a person who has failed to pay at least   six consecutive months of unpaid tolls before referring the matter   to a court with jurisdiction over a civil penalty under Section   372.078.           (d)     A toll project entity may not collect unpaid tolls and   administrative fees through an administrative adjudication hearing   conducted by the toll project entity or a person who contracts with   the toll project entity to conduct hearings.           Sec.   372.076.     PAYMENT PLAN. In the second invoice for   unpaid tolls sent to a person by a toll project entity, the toll   project entity shall provide to the person the option to pay the   tolls through a payment plan.           Sec.   372.077.     NOTICE OF RETURNED PAYMENT. A toll project   entity must immediately notify the holder of an electronic toll   collection customer account that a payment by the credit card or   debit card associated with the account was declined or could not   otherwise be processed.           Sec.   372.078.     CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PAY TWO OR MORE   INVOICES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a person who   receives two or more invoices for unpaid tolls and who has not paid   the amounts due on or before the due dates specified in the   invoices is subject to a civil penalty of $25. Only one civil   penalty may be assessed in a six-month period. An appropriate   district or county attorney may sue to collect the civil penalty and   the underlying toll and administrative fee.           (b)     In determining liability for a civil penalty under this   section, it is presumed that the unpaid invoices were received on   the fifth day after the date of mailing.           (c)     A person who enters into a payment plan under Section   372.076 is subject to a civil penalty under Subsection (a) only if   the person fails to make a payment required by the payment plan.           (d)     It is a defense to liability for a civil penalty under   this section that the person:                 (1)     is not liable for payment of each toll assessed in   the unpaid invoices; or                 (2)     paid the amount owed in the invoices pertaining to   each toll assessed in the invoices for which the person is liable.           (e)     The court in which a person is found liable for a civil   penalty under Subsection (a) shall collect the civil penalty,   unpaid tolls, administrative fees, and any additional court costs   and forward the amounts to the appropriate toll project entity.           Sec.   372.079.     EXCEPTIONS TO TOLL LIABILITY: LEASED,   TRANSFERRED, OR STOLEN VEHICLE. (a) It is an exception to   liability of a vehicle's registered owner for a toll incurred by the   vehicle if the registered owner of the vehicle is a lessor of the   vehicle and not later than the 30th day after the date the invoice   containing an assessment of the toll is mailed provides to the   appropriate toll project entity:                 (1)     a copy of the rental, lease, or other contract   document covering the vehicle on the date the toll was incurred,   with the name and address of the lessee clearly legible; or                 (2)     electronic data, in a format agreed on by the toll   project entity and the lessor, 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 toll was incurred.           (b)     If the lessor provides the required information within   the period prescribed under Subsection (a), the toll project entity   may send an invoice to the lessee at the address provided under   Subsection (a) by first class mail not later than the 30th day after   the date of receipt of the required information from the lessor.           (c)     It is an exception to liability of a vehicle's   registered owner for a toll incurred by the vehicle if the   registered owner of the vehicle:                 (1)     transferred ownership of the vehicle to another   person before the toll was incurred;                 (2)     submitted written notice of the transfer to the   Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in accordance with Section   501.147; and                 (3)     not later than the 30th day after the date the   invoice is mailed, provides to the appropriate toll project entity   the name and address of the person to whom the vehicle was   transferred.           (d)     If the former owner of the vehicle provides the required   information within the period prescribed under Subsection (c), the   toll project entity may send an invoice to the person to whom   ownership of the vehicle was transferred at the address provided by   the former owner by first class mail not later than the 30th day   after the date of receipt of the required information from the   former owner.           (e)     It is an exception to liability of a vehicle's   registered owner for a toll incurred by the vehicle if:                 (1)     the vehicle in question was stolen before the toll   was incurred and was not recovered by the time the toll was   incurred; and                 (2)     the theft was reported to the appropriate law   enforcement authority before the earlier of:                       (A)  the time the toll was incurred; or                       (B)  eight hours after the discovery of the theft.           Sec.   372.080.     PRESUMPTION. Proof that a vehicle passed   through a toll collection facility without payment of the proper   toll, together with proof that the invoice recipient was [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]