BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 575

By: Sheffield

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, certain agencies throughout Texas that monitor toll roads with cameras collect information, such as vehicle speed, from transponders, or toll tags, in order to calculate varying commute times on toll roads. As a standard practice, these agencies scramble individual account holder information, such as an individual's name, home address, and driver's license and license plate numbers.

C.S.H.B. 575 prohibits information collected from toll cameras from being used by a ticketing authority to issue any kind of ticket related to speed.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 575 amends the Transportation Code to prohibit trip data consisting of vehicle speed information that was recorded or collected by a transponder from being disclosed to a peace officer or a law enforcement agency of Texas for the purpose of prosecuting the operator of the vehicle on which the transponder was placed or from being used in a prosecution of the operator of the vehicle on which the transponder was placed. The bill makes the prohibition applicable only to the prosecution of an offense under the Transportation Code of which vehicle speed is an element.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 575 makes the prohibition on the disclosure and use of vehicle speed information recorded or collected by a transponder used to electronically assess or collect a toll apply only to the prosecution of an offense under the Transportation Code of which vehicle speed is an element, rather than to an offense of which vehicle speed is an element, as in the original.