(a) Whenever in this code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in this code or such ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision of this code or any such ordinance shall be punished by a fine.
(b) A fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance or police regulation that governs fire safety, zoning or public health and sanitation, including the dumping of refuse, may not exceed $2,000, nor exceed $500 for all other violations.
(c) Unless otherwise specifically stated in this code, any violation of this code or of any ordinance that is punishable by a fine that does not exceed $500 does not require a culpable mental state, and a culpable mental state is hereby not required to prove any such offense. Unless otherwise specifically stated in this code, any violation of this code or of any ordinance that is punishable by a fine that exceeds $500 shall require a culpable mental state as specified by Tex. Penal Code § 6.02(c).
(d) If the amount of any penalty imposed by this code or in any ordinance conflicts with a penalty amount specified by state law, the penalty amount specified by state law shall govern.
(e) Unless otherwise stated in this code or in any ordinance, each day any violation of this code or of any ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
(1964 Code, § 1-5) (Ord. 10423, § 1, passed 10-31-1989; Ord. 23569-02-2019, § 1, passed 2-12-2019, eff. 2-23-2019)
Cross-reference:
Courts, see Ch. 10
Motor vehicles and traffic, see Ch. 22
Offenses and miscellaneous provisions, see Ch. 23
Police, Ch. 27
Statutory reference:
Penalty for ordinance violations, see V.T.C.A., Government Code § 29.003