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Texas Transportation Code - Section 284.0701. Administrative Costs; Notice; Offense

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Transportation Code > Texas Transportation Code - Section 284.0701. Administrative Costs; Notice; Offense

§ 284.0701. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS;  NOTICE;  OFFENSE.  (a) 
In the event of an offense committed under Section 284.070, on 
issuance of a written notice of nonpayment, the registered owner of 
the nonpaying vehicle is liable for the payment of both the proper 
toll and an administrative cost.
	(b)  The county may impose and collect the administrative 
cost so as to recover the expense of collecting the unpaid toll, not 
to exceed $100. The county shall send a written notice of nonpayment 
to the registered owner of the vehicle at that owner's address as 
shown in the vehicle registration records of the department by 
first-class mail not later than the 30th day after the date of the 
alleged failure to pay and may require payment not sooner than the 
30th day after the date the notice was mailed.  The registered owner 
shall pay a separate toll and administrative cost for each event of 
nonpayment under Section 284.070.
	(c)  The registered owner of a vehicle for which the proper 
toll was not paid who is mailed a written notice of nonpayment under 
Subsection (b) and fails to pay the proper toll and administrative 
cost within the time specified by the notice of nonpayment commits 
an offense.  Each failure to pay a toll or administrative cost under 
this subsection is a separate offense.
	(d)  It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a) 
or (c) if 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 a copy of the rental, 
lease, or other contract document covering the vehicle on the date 
of the nonpayment under Section 284.070, with the name and address 
of the lessee clearly legible.  If the lessor provides the required 
information within the period prescribed, the authority may send a 
notice of nonpayment to the lessee at the address shown on the 
contract document 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 cost within the time 
specified by the notice of nonpayment commits an offense.  The 
lessee shall pay a separate toll and administrative cost for each 
event of nonpayment.  Each failure to pay a toll or administrative 
cost under this subsection is a separate offense.
	(e)  It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a) 
or (c) if the registered owner of the vehicle transferred ownership 
of the vehicle to another person before the event of nonpayment 
under Section 284.070 occurred, submitted written notice of the 
transfer to the department in accordance with Section 520.023, and 
before the 30th day after the date the notice of nonpayment is 
mailed, provides to the county 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 county 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 cost within the time specified by the notice of 
nonpayment commits an offense.  The subsequent owner shall pay a 
separate toll and administrative cost for each event of nonpayment 
under Section 284.070.  Each failure to pay a toll or administrative 
cost under this subsection is a separate offense.
	(f)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor 
punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.
	(g)  The court in which a person is convicted of an offense 
under this section shall also collect the proper toll and 
administrative cost and forward the toll and cost to the county.
	(h)  In this section, "registered owner" means the owner of a 
vehicle as shown on the vehicle registration records of the 
department or the analogous department or agency of another state 
or country.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 372, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.           

Last modified: August 10, 2007