By Richard Lee, Texas Senate News
(AUSTIN) With just ten days left in the 86th Legislative session, the Senate approved legislation this week to end two traffic enforcement programs that are unpopular with both citizens and lawmakers.
As reported earlier, the first would repeal the Drivers’ Responsibility Program (DRP), created in 2003 as a way to help fund trauma care in Texas. This law places “points” on a driver’s record for each violation, and assesses annual surcharges when a driver accrues more than six.
“The Texas Legislature has contemplated replacing the DRP for more than 15 years, but we have been hesitant to change the program because it is tied to Fund 5111, which is dedicated to supporting Texas trauma care,” said Houston Senator Joan Huffman. “This account assists in the treatment of approximately 130,000 individuals each year in medical facilities throughout Texas.”
In all the DRP brings in about $300 million in revenue every biennium from surcharges assessed to drivers. Wednesday, Huffman won passage of a plan to repeal the DRP while creating new revenue sources to fund trauma care.
Goodbye red light camera tickets
Friday, the Senate voted to put an end to another unpopular traffic enforcement tool: red light cameras. Officially known as photographic traffic light enforcement systems, these cameras snap a picture of the license plate of any car that enters an intersection after a traffic signal has turned red and sends a citation to the person in whose name the car is registered.
“Red light cameras violate the rights to due process guaranteed under Article I of the Texas Constitution by creating a presumption that the registered owner of the car committed a violation when that may not be the case,” said Edgewood Senator Bob Hall, who sponsored the measure, HB 1631 authored by Representative Johnathan Stickland of Bedford.
Hall said numerous studies show these cameras don’t actually improve public safety and asserted they are instead a tool used by municipalities strictly to raise revenue. Under his bill, existing contracts signed before May of this year could continue until they expire, unless they have a force majeure clause that allows either party to void the contract due to adverse legislative action.
The bill would also apply to cameras used to enforce school bus stop arms. This bill passed without amendment, sending it to the governor’s desk for his signature.
I think the DRP served a good purpose. Habitual offenders deserve more punishment and this was fitting. Okay with the cameras, They didn’t bother me one way or the other. I never run a red light anyway.