The city traffic engineer or city manager shall place and maintain traffic-control signs, signals or devices when and as required under the traffic ordinances of this city to make effective the provisions of this chapter, and may place and maintain such additional traffic-control devices as he may deem necessary to regulate traffic under the traffic ordinances of this city or under state law or to guide or warn traffic.
(Ordinance 193 adopted 8/15/1961; 1972 Code, sec. 24-105; 1995 Code, sec. 70.25)
All traffic-control devices including signs, signals and markings (pavement and/or curb) installed or used for the purpose of directing and controlling traffic within the city shall conform with the manual and specifications adopted by the state transportation commission as provided in V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, section 544.001. All signs, signals and markings erected or used by the city must conform to the manual and specifications adopted under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, section 544.001. All existing traffic-control devices and those erected inthe future by the city being consistent with the manual and specifications, state law and this section shall be official traffic-control devices.
(Ordinance 193 adopted 8/15/1961; 1972 Code, sec. 24-106; 1995 Code, sec. 70.26; Ordinance adopting Code)
The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any official traffic-control device applicable thereto placed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, unless otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle in this chapter.
(Ordinance 193 adopted 8/15/1961; 1972 Code, sec. 24-108; 1995 Code, sec. 70.28)
No provision of this chapter for which signs are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation an official sign is not in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular section does not state that signs are required, such section shall be effective even though no signs are erected or in place.
(Ordinance 193 adopted 8/15/1961; 1972 Code, sec. 24-109; 1995 Code, sec. 70.29)
For the purposes of this division, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
Department.
The police department of the city.
Intersection.
The place or area where two or more streets or roadways intersect. The common area at the junction of two or more streets or roadways, the dimensions of which include only the common area within the connection of the lateral curblines or, in the absence of curblines, the lateral boundary lines of the streets or roadways.
Owner.
The owner of a motor vehicle as shown on the motor vehicle registration records of the state department of transportation or the state department of public safety or the analogous department or agency of another state or country.
Photographic traffic signal enforcement system.
A system that:
(1) 
Consists of a camera system installed to work in conjunction with an electrically operated traffic-control signal; and
(2) 
Is capable of producing at least two recorded images that depict the license plate attached to the rear of a motor vehicle that is not operated in compliance with the instructions of the traffic-control signal.
Recorded image.
An image recorded by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system that depicts the rear of a motor vehicle and is automatically recorded on a photograph or digital image.
System location.
The approach to an intersection toward which a photographic traffic signal enforcement system is directed and in operation.
Traffic-control signal.
A traffic-control device that displays alternating red, amber and green lights that directs traffic when to stop at or proceed through an intersection.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.01; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
The city council finds and determines that a vehicle that proceeds into an intersection when the traffic-control signal controlling that vehicle’s direction of travel is emitting a steady red signal damages the public by endangering motor vehicle operators and pedestrians alike, by decreasing the efficiency of traffic-control and traffic flow efforts, and by increasing the number of serious accidents to which public safety agencies must respond at the expense of taxpayers.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.02; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
(a) 
The department shall be responsible for the enforcement and administration of this division.
(b) 
In order to impose a civil penalty under this division, the department shall mail a notice of violation to the owner of the motor vehicle not later than the thirtieth day after the date the violation is alleged to have occurred to:
(1) 
The owner’s address as shown on the registration records of the state department of transportation or the state department of public safety; or
(2) 
If the vehicle is registered in another state or country, the owner’s address as shown on the motor vehicle registration records of the department or agency of the other state or country analogous to the state department of transportation or department of public safety.
(c) 
A notice of violation issued under this section shall substantially contain the following:
(1) 
A description of the violation alleged;
(2) 
The date, time, and location of the violation;
(3) 
A copy of a recorded image of the vehicle involved in the violation;
(4) 
The amount of the civil penalty to be imposed for the violation;
(5) 
The date by which the civil penalty must be paid;
(6) 
A statement that the person named in the notice of violation may pay the civil penalty in lieu of appearing at an administrative adjudication hearing;
(7) 
Information that informs the person named in the notice of violation:
(A) 
Of the right to contest the imposition of the civil penalty in an administrative adjudication;
(B) 
Of the manner and time in which to contest the imposition of the civil penalty; and
(C) 
That failure to pay the civil penalty or to contest liability is an admission of liability;
(8) 
A statement that a recorded image is evidence in a proceeding for the imposition of a civil penalty;
(9) 
A statement that failure to pay the civil penalty within the time allowed shall result in the imposition of a late penalty of $25.00; and
(10) 
Any other information deemed necessary by the department.
(d) 
A notice of violation under this section is presumed to have been received on the tenth day after the date the notice of violation is mailed.
(e) 
In lieu of issuing a notice of violation, the department in its sole discretion may mail a warning notice to the owner.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.03; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
(a) 
A person who receives a notice of violation may contest the imposition of the civil penalty by requesting in writing an administrative adjudication of the civil penalty within 30 days after receipt of the notice of violation. Upon receipt of a timely request, the department shall notify the person of the date and time of the hearing on the administrative adjudication. The administrative adjudication hearing shall be held before a hearing officer appointed by the city council.
(b) 
Failure to pay a civil penalty or to contest liability in a timely manner is an admission of liability in the full amount of the civil penalty assessed in the notice of violation, and is a waiver of the right to appeal under this section.
(c) 
The civil penalty shall not be assessed if, after a hearing, the hearing officer enters a finding of no liability.
(d) 
In an administrative adjudication hearing, the issues must be proved at the hearing by a preponderance of the evidence. The reliability of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system used to produce the recorded image of the violation may be attested to in an administrative adjudication hearing by affidavit of an officer or employee of the city or the entity with which the city contracts to install or operate the system and who is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the system. An affidavit of an officer or employee of the city that alleges a violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded image is admissible in a proceeding under this division and is evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit.
(e) 
A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing or who requests an administrative adjudication hearing and thereafter fails to appear at the time and place of the hearing is liable for administrative hearing costs in the amount provided in the fee schedule in addition to the amount of the civil penalty assessed for the violation. A person who is found liable for a civil penalty after an administrative adjudication hearing shall pay the civil penalty and costs within ten days of the hearing.
(f) 
It is presumed that the owner of the motor vehicle committed the violation alleged in the notice of violation mailed to the person if the motor vehicle depicted in a photograph or a digital image taken by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system belongs to the owner of the motor vehicle, except it shall be an affirmative defense to the imposition of civil liability under this division, to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that:
(1) 
The traffic-control signal was not in proper position and sufficiently legible to an ordinarily observant person;
(2) 
The operator of the motor vehicle was acting in compliance with the lawful order or direction of a police officer;
(3) 
The operator of the motor vehicle violated the instructions of the traffic-control signal so as to yield the right-of-way to an immediately approaching authorized emergency vehicle;
(4) 
The motor vehicle was being operated as an authorized emergency vehicle under Tex. Transp. Code, chapter 546, and that the operator was acting in compliance with that chapter;
(5) 
The motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle and being operated by a person other than the owner of the vehicle without the effective consent of the owner;
(6) 
The license plate depicted in the recorded image of the violation was a stolen plate and being displayed on a motor vehicle other than the motor vehicle for which the plate had been issued;
(7) 
The presence of ice, snow, unusual amounts of rain or other unusually hazardous road conditions existed that would make compliance with this division and with the traffic-control signal more dangerous under the circumstances than noncompliance;
(8) 
The person who received the notice of violation was not the owner of the motor vehicle at the time of the violation; or
(9) 
The motor vehicle depicted in a photograph or a digital image taken by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system was owned by a person in the business of selling, renting, or leasing motor vehicles or by a person who was not the person named in the notice of violation, when the owner presents evidence establishing that the vehicle was at that time:
(A) 
Being test driven by another person;
(B) 
Being rented or leased by the vehicle’s owner to another person; or
(C) 
Owned by a person who was not the person named in the notice of violation;
provided testimony at the administrative adjudication hearing or a written declaration under penalty of perjury is submitted to the local authority by affidavit or written declaration.
(g) 
To demonstrate that at the time of the violation the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle or the license plate displayed on the motor vehicle was a stolen plate, the owner must submit proof acceptable to the hearing officer that the theft of the vehicle or license plate had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
(h) 
Notwithstanding anything in this division to the contrary, a person who fails to pay the amount of a civil liability in a timely manner is entitled to an administrative adjudication hearing on the violation if:
(1) 
The person files an affidavit with the hearing officer stating the date on which the person received the notice of violation that was mailed to the person; and
(2) 
Within the same period required by this section for a hearing to be timely requested, but measured from the date the mailed notice was received as stated in the affidavit, the person requests an administrative adjudication hearing.
(i) 
A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing may appeal that finding of civil liability to the municipal court of the city by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the municipal court. The notice of appeal must be filed not later than the thirty-first day after the date on which the administrative adjudication hearing officer entered the finding of civil liability. Unless the person, on or before the filing of the notice of appeal, posts a bond in the total amount of the penalty, fees and costs, an appeal does not stay the enforcement of the civil penalty. An appeal shall be determined by the municipal court by trial de novo. Any affidavits submitted at the administrative adjudication hearing to establish the reliability of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system shall be admitted by the municipal judge in the trial de novo, and the facts must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. A person found liable by the municipal court shall pay an appellate filing fee as provided in the fee schedule in addition to the civil penalty and any other costs and fees due the city.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.04; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
Following an administrative adjudication hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written order stating;
(1) 
Whether the person charged with the violation is liable for the violation; and
(2) 
The amount of any civil penalty, late penalty, and administrative adjudication costs assessed against the person.
(b) 
The order issued under subsection (a) above may be filed with the office of the hearing examiner. The hearing examiner shall keep the orders in a separate index and file. The orders may be recorded using microfilm, microfiche, or data processing techniques.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.05; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
(a) 
The imposition of a civil penalty under this division is not a criminal conviction for any purpose.
(b) 
A civil penalty may not be imposed under this division on the owner of a motor vehicle if the operator of the vehicle was arrested or was issued a citation and notice to appear by a peace officer for the same violation of Tex. Transp. Code section 544.007(d) recorded by the photographic traffic signal enforcement system.
(c) 
An owner who fails to pay the civil penalty or to timely contest liability for the penalty is considered to admit liability for the full amount of the civil penalty stated in the notice of violation mailed to the person.
(d) 
The city attorney is authorized to file suit to enforce collection of a civil penalty imposed under this division.
(e) 
If the owner of the motor vehicle fails to timely pay the amount of the civil penalty imposed against the owner:
(1) 
An arrest warrant may not be issued for the owner; and
(2) 
The imposition of the civil penalty may not be recorded on the owner’s driving record.
(f) 
Notice of subsections (e)(1) and (2) must be included in the notice of violation required by this division.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.06; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
The penalties, costs and fees assessed under this division and collected by the city are not to be deemed or considered as criminal fines, penalties or forfeitures for any purpose.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.07; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)
(a) 
The city is authorized to contract with the state department of transportation (TxDOT) under Tex. Govt. Code chapter 791 to authorize TxDOT to perform certain services for the city granted in Tex. Transp. Code section 702.003. TxDOT is authorized to place “flags” on vehicle records based on data submissions received from the city allowing denial of registration of vehicles until the civil penalty and fees are paid.
(b) 
Tex. Transp. Code section 707.017 provides that a county tax assessor-collector or the state department of transportation may refuse to register a motor vehicle alleged to have been involved in a violation if the owner of the vehicle is delinquent in the payment of a civil penalty imposed under this division.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.08; Ordinance 4061 adopted 5/6/2008; Ordinance 4093 adopted 10/7/2008)
(a) 
Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) below, the owner of a motor vehicle is liable for a civil penalty of $75.00 if the motor vehicle proceeds into an intersection at a system location when the traffic-control signal for that motor vehicle’s direction of travel is emitting a steady red signal.
(b) 
For a third or any violation thereafter committed by the owner of the same motor vehicle during a consecutive 12-month period, the amount of the civil penalty shall be $150.00.
(c) 
An owner who fails to timely pay the civil penalty shall be subject to a late payment [fee] of $25.00.
(1995 Code, sec. 76.99; Ordinance 427 adopted 1/2/2007; Ordinance 4007 adopted 8/21/2007)