HB698: relative to electronic toll collection.

CHAPTER 241

HB 698-FN – FINAL VERSION

07Jan2004… 2475h

17Mar2004… 0541h

04/22/04 1225s

25May2004… 1587CofC

25May2004… 1698eba

2004 SESSION

03-0916

06/10

HOUSE BILL 698-FN

AN ACT relative to electronic toll collection.

SPONSORS: Rep. Packard, Rock 75

COMMITTEE: Public Works and Highways

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill establishes a procedure for violations of the electronic toll collection system.

This bill also establishes criteria that the governor and council may consider if they establish toll discounts.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

07Jan2004… 2475h

17Mar2004… 0541h

04/22/04 1225s

25May2004… 1587CofC

25May2004… 1698eba

03-0916

06/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to electronic toll collection.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

241:1 Evasion of Tolls and Charges. RSA 236:31 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

236:31 Evasion of Tolls and Charges.

I. For purposes of this section:

(a) “Department” means the department of transportation.

(b) “Driver” means driver as defined in RSA 259:25.

(c) “Electronic toll collection system” means a system for electronically transmitting information from a device on a motor vehicle to receiving equipment located in a toll collection facility, in order to charge a valid electronic toll account holder the appropriate toll or charge for use of the highway or bridge.

(d) “Electronic toll collection monitoring system” means a system whereby a vehicle sensor is placed in a location to work in conjunction with an electronic toll collection system to produce at least one photograph, microphotograph, videotape, recorded image, or written record of a portion of the vehicle when the vehicle is used or operated in violation of the electronic toll collection system rules. “Electronic toll collection monitoring system” shall also include any other technology that identifies a vehicle by a photographic, electronic, or other method.

(e) “License” means license as defined in RSA 259:48.

(f) “Owner” means owner as defined in RSA 259:72.

(g) “Pay” means the transfer of funds in cash or by instructions to a financial service allowing withdrawal by debit or credit to an account maintained to satisfy the obligation to pay a toll or charge established by law for use of a highway or bridge in this state.

(h) “Violation” means to fail, neglect, or refuse to pay the toll or charge for the use of a bridge, highway, or part thereof, by a motor vehicle.

II. No person shall fail, neglect, or refuse to pay the toll or charge for the use of any bridge, highway, or part thereof; or use, or attempt to use, any device or method which results in an electronic toll collection monitoring system being unable to accurately assess or collect the toll or charge due or to detect the non-payment of the toll or charge. Any person violating this section shall be subject to the provisions of this section and to an order of suspension pursuant to RSA 263:56-f.

III. The owner of a vehicle using a bridge or highway subject to a toll or charge shall be responsible for payment of the toll and charges due, plus any administrative fees the department assesses in accordance with its rules, and to an order of suspension under RSA 263:56-f, unless:

(a) The vehicle was taken without owner’s consent, pursuant to RSA 262:12, or was a stolen vehicle at the time of the violation and the owner provides to the department, or its designee, upon receipt of notice of a violation of this section, a copy of a report of the unauthorized taking or theft made to a law enforcement agency; or

(b) The vehicle was leased or rented to another person, and the owner submits to the department, or its designee, a copy of the rental agreement, lease, or other contract document covering the vehicle on the date of the violation with the name and address of the renter or lessee clearly legible; at which time the renter or lessee of the vehicle on the date of the violation shall be deemed to be the owner of the vehicle for the purposes of this section, and shall be subject to the notice and order of suspension under RSA 263:56-f.

IV. Notwithstanding RSA 237:16-d, the department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A for the implementation of a system to detect, record, verify, and administratively enforce violations of this section. The rules shall include:

(a) The criteria used to establish that a toll or charge has not been paid.

(b) A procedure to promptly resolve inadvertent violations in the accounts of electronic toll system customers otherwise in good standing.

(c) A procedure for processing all other violations of this section, which shall require the department, or its designee, to send by regular mail, or other agreed upon method, an advisory and payment request to the owner of the vehicle, within 30 days of the date of the violation. The advisory and payment request shall notify the owner of the date, time, and location of the alleged violation, give the owner the opportunity to resolve the alleged violation by payment of the toll or charge due and a reasonable administrative fee, and advise the owner that failure to pay the required toll or charge and administrative fee within 60 days of the date of the violation shall cause the department to file a report with the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, seeking an order of suspension pursuant to RSA 263:56-f.

(d) A schedule of administrative fees to be imposed upon those who violate this section. Such administrative fees shall be set from time to time in an amount sufficient to permit the department to fully recover its costs, and the costs incurred by the department of safety, to administer, maintain, and upgrade the violation enforcement system. All funds received under this section shall be deposited in the turnpike fund. The department of transportation may, with the approval of the fiscal committee of the general court and the governor and council, draw from the turnpike fund to administer the electronic toll system.

V. Any electronic toll collection monitoring equipment acquired, operated by, or used by the department, or its designee, shall be designed to make a record of the front, or rear, or both, portions of the vehicle, including any registration plates affixed to the vehicle. Such equipment shall not be designed to produce a photograph, microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image of the face of the operator or any passenger in the motor vehicle, unless the production of such image is unavoidable because the operator or passenger is not in a passenger compartment, as on a motorcycle.

VI. The department, and any designee of the department, shall maintain the confidentiality of all information acquired in connection with the administration and enforcement of toll evasion, including but not limited to credit and account data, photographs or other images, and all personally identifying information obtained relative to owners of vehicles. Such information shall not be a public record subject to disclosure under RSA 91-A and shall be used solely for enforcement of this section.

241:2 New Paragraph; Owner; Electronic Toll Collection. Amend RSA 259:72 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V. For the purposes of the provisions of this title relative to electronic toll collection, any person holding title to a vehicle, or having the exclusive right to the use thereof under a written rental or lease agreement, for any period of time.

241:3 New Section; Suspension for Evasion of Electronic Toll Collection System. Amend RSA 263 by inserting after section 56-e the following new section:

263:56-f Suspension for Evasion of Electronic Toll Collection System.

I. Upon receiving a report from the commissioner of the department of transportation or designee, that the owner of a vehicle, as defined in RSA 236:31, has violated the terms of RSA 236:31, the director shall notify the owner in writing by first class mail that the owner’s driving privileges, registration, resident plates, or motor vehicle registration privileges may be suspended on the date which is 30 days from the date of notification unless the toll and any administrative fees assessed by the department of transportation are paid. The director shall also notify the owner that he or she may request an administrative hearing before the suspension takes effect. A request for a hearing shall be in writing. A request for a hearing received by the division more than 30 days from the date the notice is issued shall be denied as untimely.

II.(a) The director shall, pursuant to RSA 541-A, adopt by rule, a uniform administrative fine schedule for each separate violation that shall not exceed:

(1) $250 for a first offense.

(2) $500 for a second offense within a 12-month period.

(3) $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense within a 12-month period.

(b) No fine shall take effect unless approved by the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to modify the amount of the fine assessed. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, all administrative fines collected under this section shall be deposited into the turnpike fund.

III. The director shall adopt rules under RSA 260:5 establishing a uniform administrative hearing process.

IV.(a) The scope of the hearing shall be limited to:

(1) Whether the owner has paid all tolls and administrative fees owed to the department of transportation;

(2) Whether the report from the department of transportation correctly identified the owner of the vehicle at the time of the incident; or

(3) Whether the vehicle, identified as having violated the duty to pay a toll, had been reported as taken without the owner’s consent, pursuant to RSA 262:12, or stolen to a law enforcement agency in a timely manner.

(b) A notice of violation may be based in whole or in part upon inspection of any photographic or other recorded image of a vehicle using the bridge or highway subject to a toll or charge. The written certification of any person employed by or under contract with the department of transportation that the notice is so based shall be admissible in any hearing held hereunder and shall create a rebuttable presumption that the owner is liable for such violation.

V. The driving privileges, resident plates, and motor vehicle registration of any vehicle, if applicable, of an owner shall be reinstated upon:

(a) Notice to the director from the department of transportation that all tolls, fees, and fines have been paid; and

(b) Payment to the director of a fee of $100 for license or driving privilege restoration, and $25 for each motor vehicle registration restored. Such restoration fees shall be in lieu of any other reinstatement fees. All funds received under this subparagraph shall be deposited in the highway fund.

241:4 New Paragraph; Records and Certification; Evasion of Electronic Toll Collection. Amend RSA 260:14 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

III-a. Except for a person’s photograph, computerized image, and social security number, motor vehicle records may be made available to the department of transportation for the enforcement of the electronic toll collection, pursuant to RSA 236:31. Any records received under this section shall not be further transferred or otherwise made available to any non-governmental agency that is not a contracting agent of the department of transportation for the enforcement of electronic toll collection.

241:5 Toll Criteria; Discounts. RSA 237:11, V is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

V. In establishing tolls or charges pursuant to RSA 237:9, RSA 237:24, or RSA 237:40, the governor and council may discount or reduce the established tolls on any of the turnpikes in the system. In determining which vehicles shall receive a discount and the amount of the discount, the governor and council may consider criteria including, but not limited to:

(a) Use of tokens.

(b) Use of the regional electronic toll collection system.

(c) Time of day.

(d) Use of certain entrance or exit ramps.

(e) Commercial or non-commercial registration.

(f) Public transit use.

(g) In-state or out-of-state account status for participants in the regional electronic toll collection system.

(h) Congestion management.

241:6 Implementation of Electronic Toll Collection System; Applicability. The commissioner of the department of transportation shall certify to the commissioner of the department of safety that a toll facility has in place the equipment, procedures, and trained staff required to implement the electronic toll collection and enforcement system before violations as set forth under this act may be assessed at the facility.

241:7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

(Approved: June 15, 2004)

(Effective Date: June 15, 2004)