(a) The owner of a motor vehicle that is operated in violation of Section 545.066 of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended, by passing a stopped camera-enforced school bus displaying the visual signals required by Section 547.701(c) of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended, commits a civil offense and is liable for a civil fine under this article.
(b) It is a defense to a charge of a school bus stop arm violation under this section that:
(1) the school bus was not operating the visual signals required by Section 547.701(c) of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended;
(2) the operator of the motor vehicle was acting in compliance with the lawful order or direction of a peace officer;
(3) the operator of the motor vehicle was in the process of passing the school bus before the school bus operated a visual signal described by Section 547.701(c) of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended;
(4) the operator of the motor vehicle passed the stopped school bus so as to yield the right of way to an immediately approaching authorized emergency vehicle;
(5) the motor vehicle was being operated as an authorized emergency vehicle under Chapter 546 of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended, and the operator was acting in compliance with that chapter;
(6) the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle being operated by a person other than the vehicle’s owner without the consent of the vehicle owner and proof is submitted to the hearing officer that the theft of the motor vehicle had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency;
(7) the license plate depicted in the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was a stolen plate being displayed on a motor vehicle other than the motor vehicle for which the plate had been issued and proof is submitted to the hearing officer that the theft of the license plate had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency; or
(8) the presence of ice, snow, unusual amounts of rain, or other unusually hazardous road conditions existed that would have made compliance with this section more dangerous under the circumstances than non-compliance.
(c) It is presumed that the registered owner of the vehicle depicted in the recorded image of a school bus stop arm violation for which a school bus stop arm citation is issued is the person who committed the school bus stop arm violation. Proof of ownership may be made by a computer-generated record of the registration of the vehicle with the Texas Department of Transportation showing the name of the person to whom state license plates were issued. This proof is prima facie evidence of the ownership of the vehicle by the person to whom the certificate of registration was issued.
(d) A vehicle owner who is in the business of selling, renting, or leasing vehicles will not be liable for the civil school bus stop arm fines, penalties, and costs imposed by the city on a vehicle for sale or a rented or leased vehicle if the vehicle owner presents evidence establishing that the vehicle depicted in the recorded image was at the time of the alleged violation being rented, leased, or test driven by another person. Evidence sufficient to establish that the vehicle was being rented, leased, or test driven includes:
(1) the true name, address, and driver’s license number and state of issuance of the person renting, leasing, or test driving the vehicle at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken; or
(2) a true copy of the lease or rental agreement in effect at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken.
(e) Evidence presented under Subsection (d) of this section must be presented through oral testimony or by affidavit under penalty of perjury. Evidence through oral testimony must be presented at the administrative adjudication hearing. Evidence by affidavit under penalty of perjury may be presented by mail.
(f) If the owner of a vehicle presents evidence under Subsections (d) and (e) of this section establishing that the vehicle depicted in the recorded image was being rented, leased, or test driven at the time of the violation, the owner may not be held liable for civil school bus stop arm fines, penalties, and costs, and the director shall send the school bus stop arm citation to the test driver or lessee who is presumed to have committed the school bus stop arm violation. An owner of a vehicle who fails to comply with Subsections (d) or (e) of this section will be treated as any other vehicle owner and will be liable for the school bus stop arm violation.
(g) If, at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken, the vehicle depicted in the recorded image was owned by a person in the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles and the vehicle was being rented or leased to an individual, the vehicle owner shall, within 30 calendar days after the date the school bus stop arm citation is received, provide to the department the name and address of the individual who was renting or leasing the motor vehicle depicted in the recorded image and a statement of the period during which that individual was renting or leasing the vehicle. This information must be provided regardless of whether the person provides evidence under Subsections (d) and (e) of this section that the vehicle was being rented, leased, or test driven at the time of the school bus stop arm violation.
(h) A registered owner named in the school bus stop arm citation who did not hold legal title to the motor vehicle at the time of a school bus stop arm violation will not be liable for the civil school bus stop arm fines, penalties, and costs imposed by the city on that vehicle if the registered owner presents evidence establishing that another person held legal title to the vehicle at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken. Evidence sufficient to establish that the vehicle was owned by another person at the time of the school bus stop arm violation includes:
(1) the true name, address, and driver’s license number and state of issuance of the person who held legal title to the vehicle at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken; or
(2) a true copy of any purchase or sale documentation (including proof of transfer of title) showing the name of the person who held title to the vehicle at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken (that person’s address must also be provided if not contained in the documentation).
(i) Evidence presented under Subsection (h) of this section must be presented through oral testimony or by affidavit under penalty of perjury. Evidence through oral testimony must be presented at the administrative adjudication hearing. Evidence by affidavit under penalty of perjury may be presented by mail.
(j) If the registered owner named in the violation complies with Subsections (h) and (i) of this section, the registered owner may not be held liable for civil school bus stop arm fines, penalties, and costs, and the director shall send the school bus stop arm citation to the person who held legal title to the vehicle at the time the recorded image of the school bus stop arm violation was taken. A registered owner named in the school bus stop arm citation who fails to comply with Subsections (h) and (i) of this section will be treated as any other vehicle owner and will be liable for the school bus stop arm violation. (Ord. 28654)