§ 25-66. Administrative adjudication hearing.

(a)

A person who received a notice of violation may contest the imposition of the civil penalty by request in writing an administrative adjudication of the civil penalty within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the notice of violation. Upon receipt of timely request, the department shall notify the person of the date and time of the hearing on the administrative adjudication. The administrative adjudication hearing shall be held before a hearing officer appointed by the city manager.

(b)

Failure to pay a civil penalty or to contest liability in a timely manner is an admission of liability in the full amount of the civil penalty assessed in the notice of violation, and is a waiver of the right to appeal under section 25-66(i).

(c)

The civil penalty shall not be assessed, if after a hearing, the hearing officer enters a finding of no liability.

(d)

In an administrative adjudication hearing, the issues must be proved at the hearing by a preponderance of the evidence. The reliability of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system used to produce the recorded image of the violation may be attested to in an administrative adjudication hearing by affidavit of an officer or employee of the city or the entity with which the city contracts to install or operate the system and who is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the system. An affidavit of an officer or employee of the city that alleges a violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded image, is admissible in a proceeding under this article and is evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit.

(e)

A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing or who requests an administrative adjudication hearing and thereafter fails to appear at the time and place of the hearing is liable for administrative hearing costs in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in addition to the amount of the civil penalty assessed for the violation. A person who is found liable for a civil penalty after an administrative adjudication hearing shall pay the civil penalty and costs within ten (10) days of the hearing.

(f)

It shall be an affirmative defense to the imposition of civil liability under this article, to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that:

(1)

The traffic-control signal was not in proper position and sufficiently legible to an ordinarily observant person;

(2)

The operator of the motor vehicle was acting in compliance with the lawful order or direction of a police officer;

(3)

The operator of the motor vehicle violated the instructions of the traffic-control signal so as to yield the right-of-way to an immediately approaching authorized emergency vehicle;

(4)

The motor vehicle was being operated as an authorized emergency vehicle under Chapter 546 of the Texas Transportation Code and that the operator was acting in compliance with that chapter;

(5)

The motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle and being operated by a person other than the owner of the vehicle without the effective consent of the owner;

(6)

The license plate depicted in the recorded image of the violation was a stolen plate and being displayed on a motor vehicle other that the motor vehicle for which the plate had been issued;

(7)

The presence of ice, snow, unusual amounts of rain or other unusually hazardous road conditions existed that would make compliance with this article more dangerous under the circumstances than non-compliance; or

(8)

The person who received the notice of violation was not the owner of the motor vehicle at the time of the violation.

(g)

To demonstrate that at the time of the violation the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle or the license plate displayed on the motor vehicle was a stolen plate, the owner must submit proof acceptable to the hearing officer that the theft of the vehicle or license plate had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

(h)

Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, a person who fails to pay the amount of a civil penalty or to contest liability in a timely manner is entitled to an administrative adjudication hearing on the violation if:

(1)

The person files an affidavit with the hearing officer stating the date on which the person received the notice of violation that was mailed to the person; and

(2)

Within the same period required by subsection 25-65(c)(7)(b) for a hearing to be timely requested but measured from the date the mailed notice was received as stated in the affidavit filed under subdivision (1), the person requests an administrative adjudication hearing.

(i)

A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing may appeal that finding of civil liability to the municipal court by filing a notice of appeal with a clerk of the municipal court. The notice of appeal must be filed not later than the 31st day after the date on which the administrative adjudication hearing officer entered the finding of civil liability. Unless the person, on or before the filing of the notice of appeal, posts a bound in the amount of the civil penalty and any late fees, an appeal does not stay the enforcement of civil penalty. An appeal shall be determined by the municipal court by trial de novo. The affidavits submitted under subsection 25-66(d) shall be admitted by the municipal judge in the trial de novo, and the issues must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. A person found liable by the municipal court shall pay an appellate filing fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) in addition to the civil penalty and any other fees due the city.

(Ord. No. 7433, § 1, 7-25-06)