Driver responsibility Act questioned by State Sen.
By Brandi Grissom
Austin Bureau Chief for the El Paso Times. (edited for length)
State Senator Eliot Shapleigh (photo) has called for a study of the state's so-called Driver Responsibility Act, after research showed 11 percent of El Pasoans and Austin residents face arrest warrants for traffic tickets. "It sounds unbelievable to me," said Shapleigh, D-El Paso.
Nearly 60,000 El Paso drivers and almost 70,000 in Austin have outstanding arrest warrants for failing to pay fines for violations ranging from speeding to running a red light or driving without a license or insurance, according to research Shapleigh's staff conducted. Most of those traffic violations also trigger possible large surcharges under the Texas Driver Responsibility Act that lawmakers approved in 2003.
Shapleigh said he worries that low-income Texans will avoid paying traffic violations and risk jail time to avoid having to also pay the state's surcharges. "The surcharges and the fines can amount to several thousand dollars," he said. "To me, they're way too high."
Lawmakers approved the responsibility act when Texas was facing a nearly $10 billion budget shortfall. It requires drivers to pay fees to the state on top of fines that already come with the violations. About half the money from the surcharges helps pay for trauma care centers in Texas and about half pays for roads.
"Some of those surcharges are pretty steep," said DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange. Under the program, drivers rack up points for moving violations like driving more than 10 percent faster than the speed limit, running a red light, or causing an accident.
In El Paso, about 65,000 of the 140,000 outstanding warrants in May resulted from drivers with an invalid license or without insurance.
In their research, Shapleigh's staff found that at least half of those with arrest warrants in El Paso and Austin would also face surcharges from the state.
Editor's Note: Violators running red light cameras in Balcones Heights apparently are not paying their fines as well. The traffic tickets State Senator Eliot Shapleigh are referencing are criminal tickets, unlike Balcones Heights tickets which are civil and issued by a company in Scotsdale, Arizona. No surcharge is levied, only a late fee for failure to pay the fine. Balcones Heights violations do not result in warrants, suspension of license or arrest.
State Senator Eliot Shapleigh (photo) has called for a study of the state's so-called Driver Responsibility Act, after research showed 11 percent of El Pasoans and Austin residents face arrest warrants for traffic tickets. "It sounds unbelievable to me," said Shapleigh, D-El Paso.
Nearly 60,000 El Paso drivers and almost 70,000 in Austin have outstanding arrest warrants for failing to pay fines for violations ranging from speeding to running a red light or driving without a license or insurance, according to research Shapleigh's staff conducted. Most of those traffic violations also trigger possible large surcharges under the Texas Driver Responsibility Act that lawmakers approved in 2003.
Shapleigh said he worries that low-income Texans will avoid paying traffic violations and risk jail time to avoid having to also pay the state's surcharges. "The surcharges and the fines can amount to several thousand dollars," he said. "To me, they're way too high."
Lawmakers approved the responsibility act when Texas was facing a nearly $10 billion budget shortfall. It requires drivers to pay fees to the state on top of fines that already come with the violations. About half the money from the surcharges helps pay for trauma care centers in Texas and about half pays for roads.
"Some of those surcharges are pretty steep," said DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange. Under the program, drivers rack up points for moving violations like driving more than 10 percent faster than the speed limit, running a red light, or causing an accident.
In El Paso, about 65,000 of the 140,000 outstanding warrants in May resulted from drivers with an invalid license or without insurance.
In their research, Shapleigh's staff found that at least half of those with arrest warrants in El Paso and Austin would also face surcharges from the state.
Editor's Note: Violators running red light cameras in Balcones Heights apparently are not paying their fines as well. The traffic tickets State Senator Eliot Shapleigh are referencing are criminal tickets, unlike Balcones Heights tickets which are civil and issued by a company in Scotsdale, Arizona. No surcharge is levied, only a late fee for failure to pay the fine. Balcones Heights violations do not result in warrants, suspension of license or arrest.
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