The Office of Court Administration this month "released a Judicial Council report (pdf) identifying all of the recently passed bills that affect the courts," we see from Carl Reynolds at CourTex. It's a lengthy list, and lots of these bills have been discussed on Grits before, but several bills I hadn't noticed caught my eye:
For starters, a new statute will likely turn Texas' smallest counties into full-blown speed traps, allowing commissioners court to make their budgets off of traffic tickets given to drivers passing through town. HB 1517 by freshman Rep. Jason Isaac (Glenn Hegar carried it in the Senate), "Authorizes counties with a population of less than 5,000 to use fines collected for highway law violations for any purpose approved by the commissioners court" up to 30% of the previous year's revenue. According to the drafting manual for the Texas Legislative Council (see here, p. 181) there are 51 counties that can now profiteer off traffic tickets for their entire budget: Armstrong, Baylor, Borden, Briscoe, Cochran, Coke, Collingsworth, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dickens, Donley, Edwards, Fisher, Foard, Glasscock, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hudspeth, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kenedy, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lipscomb, Loving, Mcmullen, Martin, Mason, Menard, Mills, Motley, Oldham, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Schleicher, Shackelford, Sherman, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Terrell, Throckmorton, and Upton. Terrible idea. Grits predicts this will be abused immediately.
HB 2425 requires courts to "give notice to the attorney general of any action in which a party to the litigation files a petition or motion challenging the constitutionality of a Texas statute." After a couple of years or so, that should make for an interesting and provocative list.
Texas passed another statute, HB 253 by Rep. Harvey Hildebran, that's clearly aimed at the FLDS polygamist sect in West Texas but, naturally, will now apply to everybody. It lengthens the statute of limitations for bigamy to the later of ten years from the date of commission or of the victim's 18th birthday. It also raises the penalty for "failure to comply with the duties surrounding filing a birth certificate" from a Class C (ticket only) to a Class A misdemeanor. No off the grid kids: Next they'll want DNA samples from every live birth, or maybe they'll just save time and start tattooing every infant with a bar code.
Finally, a totally unneeded closed records bill: During the special session, SB 1 Article 79A made peace officer travel vouchers and reimbursement records confidential for a period of 18 months for members of the security details of state elected officials. This is all about Rick Perry not wanting to release his schedule to the public or tell them where he's been, who he's visited, etc., until long after the information would be useful to anyone performing a watchdog function. Attorney General Greg Abbott had already said those records from the Governor's office could be concealed, but this bill closes a back door reporters had used to try to access the information anyway. Absolutely absurd that voters can't know where the Governor went on their dime until 18 months after the fact, and downright pathetic IMO that the Governor would seek such an exception, much less that the Legislature would grant it.
Lots of other interesting stuff in the report but I thought I'd point out at least those few items.
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32 comments:
A population of 5,000 sounds very small. Is this accurate? I live in a county that doesn't even have a red light. There are just two four way stop signs, and there are still over 10,000 people here in Sabine County.
Yes, Ken, there's quite a few, actually. Here's the list of county populations in 2010. There were 48 below 5,000 by those data, out of 254 total. The smallest was Loving County at a whopping 65 people.
Three cheers for Harvey Hildebrandt!
There is one upside to the speed trap scenario, maybe this will lead to more cartel drug traffic arrests coming through small towns.
The Texas Legislative Council's Drafting Manual,
http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/legal/dm/draftingmanual.pdf
on page 181, lists the counties with a population of 5,000 or less according to the official returns of the 23rd Decennial Census of the United States, as released by the Bureau of the Census on February 17, 2011.
You can and should rely on the council's list.
Thanks jd, I updated the post to use the Lege Council data. By their numbers, there are 51 eligible counties.
We need a map of those counties, so we don't have to look them all up.
I move that we start installing "County Population" signs at all county borders.
A suggestion for those of you who get a ticket going through a speed-trap county (or city, for that matter): request a jury trial! Tie up the courts, and make it more expensive for the counties and cities to operate their de facto toll roads.
Wow, much about nothing. They don't get to keep it all.
The bill incorporates the following language which cities under certain populations have been regulated by the same for years.
In each fiscal year, a county described by Subsection (b-1) 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 county's revenue for the preceding fiscal year from all sources, other than federal funds and bond proceeds, as shown by an audit performed under Chapter 115, Local Government Code. After a county has retained that amount, the county shall send to the comptroller any portion of a fine or a special expense collected that exceeds $1.
9:50, you're right about only getting to keep it up to 30% of their prior year's budget. I was reacting to the description from the OCA report and hadn't read the bill.
However, you're wrong that it's not a big change to let them use it for whatever they want. Previously they could only spend the money 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."
Plus, over time they can increase it a lot: They can keep 30% of the last year's budget, but the next year they can keep up to 30% of the larger sum including the previous year's collected fines, and so on. Over time that will add up quite quickly.
BTW, I added the bit about 30% to the post, thanks for catching it.
I'm so happy I put Texas in my rearview mirror. I feel sorry that my mother still has to reside down there. Here in PA, it is illegal for local podunk Barney Fifes to work the interstates. That's the job of the PA State police, as it should be. I've always been under the opinion that if these small town cops have the time to sit on an interstate freeway to catch speeders instead of doing police work that might actually benefit the residents who pay that cops salary, that's probably one cop position that the town doesn't need.
One other thing you can do to throw a monkey wrench into the works is not only demand a jury trial, but a trial in a court of record as well. This will kick the case out of a JP court and into a county court at law, or the county court per se.
Grits....9:50 again....
Actually it's a good bill in that now these counties don't get to keep it all whereas before they could. Course you can go to the court adminstration website and see how much these counties have been generating in the past. I don't see them writing much more than they do now.
Currently, some two-lane rural roads in Texas have 75 mph speed limits, and there are two stretches of Interstate Highway in Texas with a daytime 80 mph speed limit for passenger vehicles. One is a 432-mile stretch of Interstate 10; the other is an 89-mile stretch of Interstate 20.
Effective September 1, 2011, Texas' new top speed limit becomes 85 mph, and truckers will no longer have a lower nighttime speed limit. The 85 mph speed limit will be applied only to Texas roads deemed suitable by state officials. Most other roads currently posted at 70 mph will be increased to 75 mph.
The new speed law effects many of the counties you mentioned. How much more faster do you wanna go?
The question isn't how much faster do you want to go, it's how much money you want these little podunk counties to be able to mulct from drivers passing through their jurisdiction.
If I misread it and this imposed limits, my bad. But expanding what they can spend the money on to anything they choose strikes me as a slippery slope.
9:05 again...agree with you about the concern of spending how you want to. Not that I know it's been an issue in any of these counties, perhaps some of these counties will earmark some of the money for jail improvements in the area of medical and mental health treatment of inmates and indigent defense.
I lived in Bonham back when Westminister, on the Hwy. 121 route to Dallas, had its chiropractor police chief. This WILL be abused, trust me.
Besides the 30 percent "compounding," good catch there, let's remember that with courts eroding the Fourth Amendment more and more, these speeding stops will also get used as excuses for other police activity.
Anonymous 8:36, who talked about how this will possibly interdict more drug cartel traffic is clueless enough right there to not be worth the time to further correct in general.
Anonymous 10:59 (and earlier posts?) seems a bit defensive of the "podunk" sheriff's departments.
Anonymous 11:32 is naive at best if he/she actually believes that.
@ Gadfly.....
Your comical at best. Before I became defensive, I would have to know how many traffic tickets these sheriff offices issue since it's my belief that most of the traffic citations issued in these counties are state trooper issued and not by deputy sheriff's.
Actually I don't think they are podunk counties by any means. Some of the best native Texas scenery to be scene and deer hunting to be had.
BTW, they are offices, not departments. There's a difference. Lol!!!
http://www.dm.courts.state.tx.us/oca/oca_ReportViewer.aspx?ReportName=JP_Summary_Reported_Activity.rpt&ddlFromMonth=1&ddlFromYear=2010&txtFromMonthField=@FromMonth&txtFromYearField=@FromYear&ddlToMonth=12&ddlToYear=2010&txtToMonthField=@ToMonth&txtToYearField=@ToYear&ddlSortBy=2&txtSortByField=@SortID&ddlCountyPostBack=0&txtCountyPostBackField=@CountyID&export=1706
LOL GADFLY
...who talked about how this will possibly interdict more drug cartel traffic is clueless enough right there to not be worth the time to further correct in general.
Pull your head out, then pull out a map and observe how many of those "podunk counties" are within 100 miles of the border with major roads coming from a border town. Any incentive to encourage officers to make a stop will increase the probabilities of catching a load of drugs.
But really, go ahead and blow us away with your mind blowing bull shit about how that won't lead to more drug interdiction.
Just FYI - The restriction on disclosure of travel vouchers does not mean "voters can't know where the Governor went on their dime until 18 months after the fact". The governor's security is made up of Department of Public Safety officers, and DPS routinely releases information on where the officers traveled and the aggregate amounts spent on hotels, meals, etc. for each trip.
To Anomymous who replied to Gadfly:
Regardless of who issues the ticket in the unincorporated area of a county, i.e., deputy sheriff, county constable, or Department of Public Safety trooper, the county (through the justice of the peace of the precinct in which the ticket was issued) collects the fine.
Gadfly: You are right about the 4th amendment erosion. Want to make a cop irritated, refuse a search request.
Now that is some sound advice 8:46.
Consider this:
1. If you leave the country for travel and then return, you know that your luggage may be searched. Maybe random, maybe because you had a high times magazine in your shirt pocket. Point being you know that it is a fact of life for return travel.
2. If you choose to fly to a destination in/out of US, you know that you will have your suitcases scanned, your personal effects scanned before being allowed to board a plane. Maybe you will get lucky and get groped by one of the sucurity officials. But again you know that commercial air flight is condiditional.
3. What is your hang-up with driving a vehicle and submitting to a search if required? You know that driving a vehicle in the US is conditional. You must obtain a liscense, pay for auto insurance, abide by traffic laws, and yes submit to a search if asked.
So, regarding your comment about ..."irratating a law enforcement officer," I guess there isn't anything prohibiting you from pissing off a customs officer, airport security officer, or anybody else in the name of "4th amendment rights." Just seems kind of dumbass wouldn't you agree?
10:06, not a dumbass, just a concerned patriot worried about the future of my country. The groping of the elderly and disabled is alright for you maybe, but not for me. The war on terror and drugs has became a war on our basic civil liberties.
I agree with you East Texas. If I get on an Air Plane or Travel I understand the risks in a free country so I do not need someone protecting me. This is the excuse they use to harass me and take away my rights. THEY ARE JUST PROTECTING ME. Now on my weekly trips down I-35 from Dallas to Austin I always see a City of Italy city police car with someone stopped too. I would think the city would have more important things for their police officers to do and let DPS Officers handle the traffic on an interstate; however, I am smart enough to know this is a speed trap to produce revenue for the city coffers. So do as I do and slow down to 55MPH when you pass through this town.
We should be able to claim fines and traffic tickets as an itemized deduction on our income tax. Just amazed that the public hasn't banned together and forced officials to transparently show where every penny of generated ticket revenue is spent.
jd said...
To Anomymous who replied to Gadfly:
Regardless of who issues the ticket in the unincorporated area of a county, i.e., deputy sheriff, county constable, or Department of Public Safety trooper, the county (through the justice of the peace of the precinct in which the ticket was issued) collects the fine.
No kidding Naton. Oh and to broaden your intellectual knowledge, those same officers can file their citations in justice courts for violations committed inside the incorporated boundaries as well.
Anonymous said...
We should be able to claim fines and traffic tickets as an itemized deduction on our income tax. Just amazed that the public hasn't banned together and forced officials to transparently show where every penny of generated ticket revenue is spent.
Yep you want that transparency but you not willing to pay for the implementation of it. In the meantime, file an Open Records request on your own and stop waiting for others to join your cause.
This is just picking on small counties.
Larger cities have access to more ways to generate revenue. For example "code violations" and "permits...," don't hear anyone complaining about that?
Do you actually think that government is free and doesn't cost anything to operate?
Lay off griping about small counties/cities. If you aren't speeding you can't be ticketed.
@ 5:32
I am also very aware of the Italy PD "working" their 1 mile incorporated stretch of IH35. I dont think there has been a time where I have not passed through this area without seeing someone pulled over, not by TxDPS, but an Italy PD officer.
Out of mere curiosity, I looked up the incorporated city limits of Italy, Tx. The outline of thier city is very unique since the actual town is about a mile from the interstate. Its not as if they incorporated a huge amount of land that included IH35, but they merely incorporated public right of way on Hwy 34 to IH 35.
Also, I must note that their 1 mile stretch of IH35 includes a bridge. As defined by TxDOT, this bridge stretches for almost most of Italy's incorporated portion of IH35.
I have only seen the Italy PD patrol car parked on the shoulder on the interstate on back side of this bridge. Never on the front side, for reasons that are very obvious.
I would like to point out, that from what I have personally witnessed, the area in which they park to shoot their radar is a violation of Texas Transportation Code, Title 7, Subtitle 7, Chapter 545, Subchapter G, Sec 545.302 (7). STOPPING, STANDING, OR PARKING PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN PLACES. An operator may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle on a bridge or other elevated structure on a highway or in a highway tunnel.
So with this in mind, any ticket issued should be dismissed under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 38.23. [727A] EVIDENCE NOT TO BE USED. (a) No evidence
obtained by an officer or other person in violation of any
provisions of the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas, or of
the Constitution or laws of the United States of America, shall be
admitted in evidence against the accused on the trial of any
criminal case.
I see a lot of comments on here about not having county sheriff's deputies enforce the traffic laws of the State of Texas. So is it the opinion of these posters that the only law enforcement agency in Texas that should be allowed to issue traffic citations is the overworked, underpaid TXDPS? Should all other agencies just let the stretches of state and interstate highways that run through their jurisdictions turn into the NASCAR circuit?
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