Texas House votes to cap toll violation fees

The Texas House has unanimously passed a bill that caps total toll fines at US$73 every six months for any given customer, according to the Austin–American Statesman.

The amendment said toll violations would carry a US$6 administrative fee, capped at US$48 each six months for any given person, plus at most a US$25 civil penalty every half year. The amendment does not cap court costs associated with taking a toll violator to court, but it also stipulates that failure to pay tolls would be a civil offence, not a criminal violation as is the case now.

It would apply only to TxDOT tollways, which owns just five tollways in the state; Austin-area drivers could still, in theory, rack up larger fines on the 183-A, US 290 East and Texas 71 tollways, operated by the 5681 Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, as well as the MoPac Boulevard, US 183 and Texas 45 Southwest tollways that are now under construction.