TxDOT waive$1.3B in toll fines,fees

But tolls, fees or fines from Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, other local toll agencies remain.

The Texas Department of Transportation will waive more than $1.3 billion in fines and late fees owed by those who have driven on its toll roads since 2007, agency officials say, a response to a cap in such fees imposed last year by the Legislature.

The decision, made by TxDOT Executive Director James Bass in recent weeks and announced Wednesday at a House Transportation Committee, does not affect the underlying tolls owed by those drivers. TxDOT officials said Thursday that about $147 million in tolls remain in arrears, from about 2.2 million drivers.

Bass said customers owing fees and fines might not be able to see the change immediately online.

“For the system to go through and clear this out, it may take a while,” Bass told the American-Statesman. “We can’t just hit a button and do it. But if you look at the next invoice you get, it should not have your fees and fines in it.”

Bass’ move, along with the new state law regarding fees and fines, applies only to tolls incurred on TxDOT-operated roads. It does not affect any tolls, fees or fines that drivers racked up driving on tollways operated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority or other local toll agencies in Dallas, Houston, East Texas, El Paso or the Rio Grande Valley.

In Central Texas, the TxDOT action covers toll fines and fees on Texas 130 (including the pri-

vately run section south of Mustang Ridge), Texas 45 North, Texas 45 Southeast and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) north of Parmer Lane. It does not cover such charges on the mobility authority’s tollways of MoPac south of Parmer Lane, U.S. 290 East, 183-A and Texas 71 East.

The mobility authority, which opened the first of its four tollways in March 2007, likewise has a considerable backlog of unpaid tolls and fees, and officials said their call center was clogged Thursday with people who had seen media reports about the TxDOT decision and mistakenly thought it applied to all Austin-area tollways.

Mike Heiligenstein, executive director of the authority, said his agency has a backlog of about $35 million in unpaid tolls and $135 million in late fees. None of it will be forgiven, he said, in part because the authority, unlike TxDOT, does not have access to tax revenue and must rely only on toll revenue.

“We don’t have a backstop, any other sort of funds to draw on,” Heiligenstein said. “But beyond that, we don’t believe that rewarding toll-lifters is a good policy. As far as I’m concerned, there won’t be any amnesty now or in the future. Just pay your toll.”

The authority, he said, does negotiate with those with tolls and fees owed, requiring that, as part of any discount offered, the person get an electronic toll tag. The authority said people owing back tolls may call 888-8114565 or go to paytexastoll. com to initiate a discussion about a reduction.

Texas toll roads generally have electronic toll collection, meaning that most customers (usually about two-thirds) have toll tags on their vehicles and thus pay tolls more or less instantly through the tag. The remaining motorists, however, get bills through the mail based on photos of their vehicle license plates shot by overhead cameras at toll gantries, and sent to the address connected with that plate. The backlog of unpaid bills come from that pay-by-mail segment.

The new law, Senate Bill 312, was signed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott and went into effect on March 1. Among other things, it limits — for TxDOT-operated tollways — administrative fees on any given invoice to $6, with an annual maximum per customer of $48. TxDOT, to make the fee consistent, will charge $4 a month for unpaid tolls.

Previously, state law had no such cap, and TxDOT fines could quickly grow to $25 per unpaid toll, or even more when the cases were referred to a collection agency or a court. That led to some people, those who repeatedly drove on TxDOT tollways without paying, having debts running to the tens of thousands of dollars, and others with only a few unpaid tolls owing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

TxDOT officials said any late fees and fines previously paid, including some in the first two months of this year, will not be refunded to those who paid.