On Wednesday the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced the launch of a new program aimed at expanding on an existing program set to assist poor drivers that have unpaid surcharges under the current Driver Responsibility Program.
Driver Responsibility Program Details
The Driver Responsibility Program authorizes the Texas DPS to assess surcharges to drivers based upon traffic offenses that occurred before September 1st, 2003. (Learn more details by downloading the Driver Responsibility Pamphlet). These surcharges are separate from any fees paid to the court for a particular ticket and can occur for No Insurance convictions, driving while intoxicated, and based upon annual driver record reviews. A surcharge is assessed if a driver’s record indicates:
- Six or more points, or
- There is an underlying conviction for the surcharge within the past 3 years.
Options for Low Income Drivers with Surcharges
Since 2011 the DPS has had an Indigency program, which reduces surcharges owed by individuals if their income is at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. This program can reduce the surcharge amount by 10 percent up to a maximum of $250. An article yesterday by the Texas Tribune reports that as much as 60 percent of surcharge fines went uncollected. So in an effort to bring further relief to those without the financial means to pay for their surcharges, the DPS has added a new Incentive Program. This new option is available to individuals with incomes above 125 percent and below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. That amounts to incomes between $29,437 and $70,650 per year for a family of four.
Destination for the Funds
The funds generated by the surcharges are forwarded to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts who distributes 99 percent to the Trauma Center and Texas General Revenue Fund. The remaining 1 percent goes to the DPS for administering the program. There are critics of the Driver Responsibility Program who argue that it doesn’t improve driver safety and that the state has been unsuccessful in collection funds resulting in over 1 million driver license suspensions since 2003. Most in the Health Care industry disagree in large part with those criticisms since the funds from the program helps trauma care in emergency hospitals across Texas. Just last session there was a legislative effort to repeal the Driver Responsibility Program, but their efforts thus far have been unsuccessful.
Remember that one of the best ways to keep traffic citations off your record is to elect to complete a state approved defensive driving (a.k.a) Texas driver safety course.
