§1525.  Motor carrier violations; enforcement procedure; payment and collection of penalties; administrative review; driver's license suspensions

A.(1)  Whenever any carrier, common carrier, contract carrier, private carrier, transport vehicle, or driver is found in violation of any provision of this Chapter or any provision of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, shall send the responsible party a "Notice of Violation, Proposed Finding and Proposed Civil Penalty", hereafter referred to as a "notice of violation", within thirty calendar days of the violation; however, whenever an incident involves hazardous materials and includes evacuations, fatalities, or serious injuries, the office of state police shall send the responsible party a "notice of violation" within sixty calendar days of the violation.

(2)(a)  Each notice of violation shall clearly indicate if a monetary penalty is assessed for the violation or if the notice of violation is only a warning.  In cases of the assessment of a monetary penalty, each notice of violation shall be sent to the responsible party by certificate of mailing.  Such notice of violation shall also contain notice that the responsible party shall have forty-five calendar days from the date of issuance of the notice of violation to either pay the monetary penalty for the violation or to request, in writing, an administrative hearing to review the notice of violation.  In cases where the amount of the civil penalty is negotiated between the office of state police and the responsible party, the office of state police shall send written notification to the responsible party of the amount of the negotiated civil penalty within thirty calendar days of the date of the final negotiation.

(b)  The office of state police shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, subject to oversight by the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works as are necessary regarding the administrative hearing, including but not limited to rules and regulations regarding notification and procedure for requesting a hearing.

(3)  If the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, fails to issue the notice of violation to the responsible party in accordance with the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, the violation shall be dismissed.  However, the office of state police shall be granted an additional sixty calendar days to send the responsible party a notice of violation in accordance with the provisions of Subsection A of this Section if the office of state police experiences a data system failure caused by either an act of God or an intentional act of sabotage.

(4)  Any appeal of the findings of the administrative law judge shall be filed in a state district court with proper venue over the matter.

B.(1)  If a motor carrier is determined to be the responsible party for a notice of violation by the office of state police, and if such party fails to pay the assessed penalty within forty-five calendar days of issuance of the notice of violation, or in the case of an administrative hearing, the responsible party fails to pay the assessed penalty within thirty calendar days of receiving a notice of final judgment from the administrative law judge, the outstanding penalty amount shall be posted on the office of state police's official web site.  The outstanding penalty amount for such responsible party shall continue to appear on the web site until all fines and fees are paid in full.  The office of state police shall transmit the vehicle identification number of the offending vehicle for which the notice of violation was written to the office of motor vehicles.  The office of motor vehicles shall not renew the registration of the offending vehicle until all fines and fees associated with the notice of violation have been paid in full.  Within seven calendar days of receiving documentation from the responsible party that all fines and fees have been paid in full, the office of state police shall remove the posting of the notice of violation from its web site.  Additionally, upon payment of all fines and fees associated with the notice of violation, the office of motor vehicles shall immediately authorize renewal of the vehicle's registration.

(2)  If the driver of a motor vehicle is found to be the responsible party for a notice of violation by the office of state police, the driver shall be responsible for the payment of all fines and fees associated with issuance of the notice of violation.  If the office of state police fails to receive payment within forty-five calendar days of issuance of the notice of violation, or in the case of an administrative hearing, the responsible party fails to pay the assessed penalty within thirty calendar days of receiving a notice of final judgment from the administrative law judge, the office of state police shall transmit the driver's license number to the office of motor vehicles.  Upon receipt of the driver's license number, the office of motor vehicles shall immediately notify the driver, by first class mail, that his driver's license shall be suspended thirty calendar days after the date of mailing the notice unless all fines and fees associated with the notice of violation or final judgment from the administrative law judge are paid in full together with notice of the imposition of a fifty-dollar fee by the office of motor vehicles to cover its administrative costs.  The driver's license shall remain suspended until all fines and fees associated with the notice of violation or final judgment from the administrative law judge and the fifty-dollar fee for the office of motor vehicles are paid in full.  Upon payment of all fines and fees, the office of motor vehicles shall immediately authorize the reinstatement of the driver's license.

(3)  Motor carriers shall not be responsible for driver violations.

C.(1)  The office of state police and any law enforcement officer working for such office shall be prohibited from seizing a motor vehicle or the registration license plate of a motor vehicle for failing to pay a fine for a notice of violation.

(2)  In the event a motor vehicle for which a notice of violation has been issued is subsequently sold, the new owner of such vehicle shall not be responsible for any outstanding fines or fees associated with a notice of violation.  The new owner of the motor vehicle shall present proper documentation to the office of state police evidencing the lawful transfer of ownership.

D.  During a gubernatorially declared state of emergency, the office of state police shall be granted an additional sixty calendar days to send the responsible party a notice of violation in accordance with the provisions of Subsection A of this Section.  The extension of time granted in this Subsection shall terminate once the state of emergency ends.

Acts 2006, No. 841, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2012, No. 551, §1.