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Can anyone help me locate the statute that talks about a municipality can only use traffic ticket revenue for road maintenance or whatever please? I know we talked about it, I just can't find the post. Thanks...

Here's a list of all of them.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Re ... ctivesept1

Searching through it, I found a few relating to traffic.

Thanks, but this is not what I was looking for.

propellerhead wrote:Here's a list of all of them.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Reports/Re ... ctivesept1

Searching through it, I found a few relating to traffic.

Nobody knows?

BrassMonkey wrote:Nobody knows?

I kinda doubt that it exists.

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Maybe I had this conversation on a different board. Sorry...

Liberty wrote:

BrassMonkey wrote:Nobody knows?

I kinda doubt that it exists.

BrassMonkey wrote:Can anyone help me locate the statute that talks about a municipality can only use traffic ticket revenue for road maintenance or whatever please? I know we talked about it, I just can't find the post. Thanks...

I think maybe this was something on another forum...

But...I always thought a municipality could do whatever it wants to with funds generated though fines and other law enforcement revenue generated by traffic fines and other citations...

AS LONG, as the mechanisms for the use of funds is written up in their charter or other binding agreement the community has voted upon...

I don't think there is a state or local statute that governs that at that level...

Do you believe the usage of revenue generated by this mechnism is being missused in your area???

No, just a discussion about speed traps and an idiot. :-)

stevie_d_64 wrote:

BrassMonkey wrote:Can anyone help me locate the statute that talks about a municipality can only use traffic ticket revenue for road maintenance or whatever please? I know we talked about it, I just can't find the post. Thanks...

I think maybe this was something on another forum...

But...I always thought a municipality could do whatever it wants to with funds generated though fines and other law enforcement revenue generated by traffic fines and other citations...

AS LONG, as the mechanisms for the use of funds is written up in their charter or other binding agreement the community has voted upon...

I don't think there is a state or local statute that governs that at that level...

Do you believe the usage of revenue generated by this mechnism is being missused in your area???

In Texas the municipality where the citation is written only gets like 10% of the revenue. I may be a little off but I will look it up tommorow.

I don't remember anyone here discussing it, but the law youa re talking about is:

Transportation Code 542.402. DISPOSITION OF FINES.
(a) A municipality or county shall use a fine collected for a violation of a
highway law in this title to:
(1) construct and maintain roads, bridges, and culverts in the
municipality or county;
(2) enforce laws regulating the use of highways by motor vehicles;
and
(3) defray the expense of county traffic officers.
(b) In each fiscal year, a municipality having a population of less than
5,000 may retain, from fines collected for violations of this title and
from special expenses collected under Article 45.051, Code of
Criminal Procedure, in cases in which a violation of this title is alleged,
an amount equal to 30 percent of the municipality's revenue for the
preceding fiscal year from all sources, other than federal funds and
bond proceeds, as shown by the audit performed under Section
103.001, Local Government Code.

After a municipality has retained that amount, the municipality shall
send to the comptroller any portion of a fine or a special expense
collected that exceeds $1.
(c) The comptroller shall enforce Subsection (b).
(d) In a fiscal year in which a municipality retains from fines and special
expenses collected for violations of this title an amount equal to at
least 20 percent of the municipality's revenue for the preceding fiscal
year from all sources other than federal funds and bond proceeds, not
later than the 120th day after the last day of the municipality's fiscal
year, the municipality shall send to the comptroller:
(1) a copy of the municipality's financial statement for that fiscal year
filed under Chapter 103, Local Government Code; and
(2) a report that shows the total amount collected for that fiscal year
from fines and special expenses under Subsection (b).
(e) If an audit is conducted by the comptroller under Subsection (c) and it
is determined that the municipality is retaining more than 20 percent
of the amounts under Subsection (b) and has not complied with
Subsection (d), the municipality shall pay the costs incurred by the
comptroller in conducting the audit.

Perfect, thank you....

Wasn't that code written to quell the speed trap in Selma, TX. Selma used to be a small town north of San Antonio. Now it is a suburb of San Antonio. It is alot bigger than 5,000 people now.

A few years ago (20+) the judge that was running that speed trap of a town was making a lot of money from speeding tickets.

What made him stick out was getting caught driving the wrong way in Austin on IH 35, while intoxicated. He tried to wrom his way out by being a judge, then the Austin Liberal Statesman started digging into what was going on down there.

Then the state passed this code.

While Selma was not the only one that caused the law, it was a big contributor to the problem. Selma was also the only one so famous that it made it into a country song that was a fairly big hit too.

......speed trap up ahead Selma, town, no local yocal gonna slow me down.....

yep.

If y'all thik this is funny...Go ahead...I think it is...

My wife got a letter in the mail from the Photo Enforcement Division of the Houston Police Department...

I told her to get her DL, CHL and proof of insurance out before opening the letter...

It was adressed to her Maiden name, the address was almost correct, how it got in our mailbox is something short of a miricle by our postal service, but then again that service in our area has left something to be desired lately...

This notice was official, but the pictures showed a vehicle we do not, and have never owned, much less ran a red light in that part of town on the west side...

I think the robots screwed up obviously, but the girl who answered the phone when I called about it said just send it back, return to sender...

She was nice and told me it happens...

I would like to know how often it does, and why it takes from the time of the offence 2/7/07, to the date of issuance of 9/4/07 to be mailed to us...

I ran the plate through my PublicData.com account and found out the real owner of the vehicle lived in an apartment just down the street from the note offense...If in 5 minutes I can gather enough information to know it wasn't who they sent it to...I have to wonder what happened...

So much for the investment and continued expansion of a system that is extremely flawed, and un-necessary...Other than it being a wonderful automatic revenue generating mechanism for the coffers of our city...

I believe these red-light cameras are an insult to the law enforcement community...

Just my opinion...

I sure would like to know the "real" stats on the errors it have made so far...Like this one...