Guest guest Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 The Public Safety Commission held a hearing to take testimony on proposed changes to the Driver Responsibility Program April 26, 2010. Rick Antonisse, NCTTRAC executive director; Jorie Klein with Parkland Health & Hospital System; and Dinah Welsh with TETAF all testified emphasizing how important the Driver Responsibility Program is to funding the Texas Trauma System. Thank you to both Rick and Jorie for taking time to travel in and testify at this important hearing. In addition to the testimony presented by these individuals approximately eight other individuals testified sharing problems with the DRP. It was anticipated that a larger crowd expressing dissatisfaction with the DRP would have testified at the hearing. Yesterday was a first step in expanding the small asterisk that gets mentioned - trauma care - when the Driver Responsibility Program is discussed. It will be incumbent on the TETAF community to clearly explain and document the benefits of the DRP over the next 13 months. I'm attaching the Dallas Morning News article on yesterday's hearing with Rick Antonisse quoted. Also, at the bottom you can find a link to the Grits for Breakfast blog which devotes a great amount of time to the Driver Responsibility Program. Texas' steep surcharges for driving violations clog courts, increase DWI dismissals, ex-judge tells panel | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Dallas-Fort Worth Transportation News | Dallas-Fort Worth News http://shar.es/m5fHH> Source: dallasnews.com Texas' steep surcharges for driving violations clog courts, increase DWI dismissals, ex-judge tells panel 07:22 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News tsutz@... AUSTIN - A steep surcharge program for drunken driving and other driving violations is clogging state courts and causing the dismissal rate for DWI cases to skyrocket, a former state judge told the Texas Public Safety Commission on Monday. Hodges, who served as a state district judge based in McLennan County, told the panel that the Texas Driver Responsibility Program has had a " devastating " effect on the Texas court system, and judges across the state are reporting at least two years of pending driving-while-intoxicated cases as more defendants seek trials. " Our criminal justice system is supposed to be about changing behavior and making our streets safer, but there is no evidence that this program is making our streets safer, " said Hodges, now judicial liaison for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, which provides training and support for judges. Not only are more DWI cases being dismissed, but others are resulting in lesser charges, such as reckless driving, to help reduce the huge backlog, he noted. " There is credible research to show that this program has actually created a new class of criminals that we're having to deal with, " said Hodges, citing the estimated 1.2 million drivers who have not paid the surcharges under the program - most of whom have lost their licenses as a result. Those 1.2 million Texans - about two-thirds of the drivers who have been slapped with surcharges - now owe the state more than $1 billion that they have either refused or been unable to pay. The Public Safety Commission convened a public hearing Monday to gauge public opinion on a proposal that would reduce charges for indigent drivers, those making less than $14,000 a year. Many of those testifying said the change would still leave many unable to afford the surcharges. The original idea behind the program, which took effect in late 2004, was to assess large additional fines for certain violations to discourage those types of offenses and raise money for highway projects and trauma care. But the program never worked as the Legislature intended. No money has gone to highways, and trauma centers have received only a fraction of what was intended. DWI offenses carry the biggest surcharges - $1,000 a year for three years on the first conviction and $2,000 a year in cases where the blood alcohol content is twice the legal limit. Critics of the program said many of those affected by the surcharges are first-time offenders, students, single parents and low-income residents faced with the choice of complying with the law or paying for necessities such as food, rent, car repairs and medical bills. Various state efforts - including hiring of a collection agency and allowing installment payments - have only marginally improved compliance. Many lawmakers have concluded that a majority of drivers slapped with a surcharge will never pay. Legislators authorized the commission in 2007 to implement a partial amnesty and incentive plan to boost payments, but it has taken no steps in that direction yet. Hodges asked the panel to consider a change in the program that would allow state judges to waive part of the DWI surcharge as an incentive to get defendants into treatment programs. Rick Antonisse, executive director of the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, urged commissioners to keep the program intact. He argued that trauma centers are dependent on the funds they do receive through the surcharges. He said the Driver Responsibility Program provides 83 percent of uncompensated funding for trauma care centers - about $17.1 million in North Texas last year. " Loss of this funding would shift more of the cost burden from those drivers whose offenses are frequently associated with serious injuries, as well as those driving without insurance, to paying patients and the taxpayers, " he told the commission. Commissioners took no action. If any changes are to be made, approval of the indigent program would be first. AT A GLANCE: TRAFFIC VIOLATION SURCHARGES How driver responsibility surcharges in Texas work: ANNUAL SURCHARGES Drivers convicted of certain violations are required to pay automatic annual surcharges for three years from the date of conviction. They are: *Driving while intoxicated: $1,000 a year for three years for the first conviction; $1,500 a year for the second; $2,000 a year for any conviction with a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 or greater. *Failure to maintain financial responsibility (insurance): $250 *Driving while license is invalid: $250 *Driving without a license: $100 POINTS Drivers accumulate points for moving-violation convictions (convictions on the charges listed above do not accrue points). A driver who acquires six points or more in three years must pay $100 for the first six and $25 for each point above that. A schedule of surcharges: *Two points for a moving violation in Texas or another state. (Points are not assigned for speeding less than 10 percent over the posted limit or for seat belt violations.) *Three points for a moving violation in Texas that results in a crash. *Two points for a child safety seat violation. SUSPENSION Drivers who do not pay within 30 days of conviction have their licenses suspended. SOURCE: Texas Department of Public Safety GRITS FOR BREAKFAST BLOG http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/ DINAH S. WELSH Chief Executive Officer Texas EMS, Trauma & Acute Care Foundation 3400 Enfield Road Austin, Texas 78703 dwelsh@... dwelsh@...> www.tetaf.org http://www.tetaf.org/> office cell Are you receiving all the latest news regarding TETAF? Join one or all TETAF list serve groups at http://groups.yahoo.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/> - enter in TETAF to search and join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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