(1) The traffic laws of this state, and those of any municipality through which passes a public highway constructed, operated, or maintained by an authority, and such an authority's rules and regulations regarding toll collection and enforcement shall pertain to and govern the use of any such public highway. State and local law enforcement authorities are authorized to enter into traffic and toll enforcement agreements with authorities. Any funds received by a state law enforcement authority pursuant to such toll enforcement agreement shall be subject to annual appropriations by the general assembly to such law enforcement authority for the purpose of performing its duties pursuant to such agreement. (2) Any authority may adopt, by resolution of its board, rules pertaining to the enforcement of toll collection and evasion and providing a civil penalty for toll evasion. The civil penalty established by an authority for any toll evasion shall be not less than ten dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars in addition to any costs imposed by a court. An authority may use state of the art technology, including, but not limited to, automatic vehicle identification photography, to aid in the collection of tolls and enforcement of toll violations. The use of state of the art technology to aid in enforcement of toll violations shall be governed solely by this section. (3) (a) Any person who evades a toll established by an authority shall be subject to the civil penalty established by that authority for toll evasion. Any peace officer as described in section 16-2.5-101, C.R.S., shall have the authority to issue civil penalty assessments, or municipal summons and complaints if authorized pursuant to a municipal ordinance, for such toll evasion. (b) At any time that a person is cited for toll evasion, the person operating the motor vehicle involved shall be given either a notice in the form of a civil penalty assessment notice or a municipal summons and complaint. If a civil penalty assessment is issued, such notice shall be tendered by a peace officer as described in section 16-2.5-101, C.R.S., and shall contain the name and address of such person, the license number of the motor vehicle involved, the number of such person's driver's license, the nature of the violation, the amount of the penalty prescribed for the violation, the date of the notice, a place for such person to execute a signed acknowledgment of such person's receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice, a place for such person to execute a signed acknowledgment of liability for the cited violation, and such other information as may be required by law to constitute such notice as a complaint to appear for adjudication of toll evasion pursuant to this section if the prescribed toll, fee, and civil penalty are not paid within twenty days. Every cited person shall execute the signed acknowledgment of the person's receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice. (c) The acknowledgment of liability shall be executed at the time the cited person pays the prescribed penalty. The person cited shall pay the toll, fee, and civil penalty authorized by the authority involved at the office of such authority, either in person or by postmarking such payment within twenty days of the citation. If the person cited does not pay the prescribed toll, fee, and civil penalty within twenty days of the notice, the civil penalty assessment notice shall constitute a complaint to appear for adjudication of toll evasion in court or in an administrative toll enforcement proceeding, and the person cited shall, within the time specified in the civil penalty assessment notice, file an answer to this complaint in the manner specified in the notice. (d) If a municipal summons and complaint is issued, the adjudication of the violation shall be conducted and the format of the summons and complaint shall be determined pursuant to the terms of the municipal ordinance authorizing issuance of such a summons and complaint. In no case shall the penalty upon conviction for violation of a municipal ordinance for toll evasion exceed the limit established in subsection (2) of this section. (4) (a) The respective courts of the municipalities, counties, and cities and counties are given jurisdiction to try all cases arising under municipal ordinances and state laws governing the use of a public highway operated by an authority and arising under the toll evasion civil penalty regulations enacted by authorities. Venue for such cases shall be in the municipality, county, or city and county where the alleged violation of municipal ordinance or state law or of the authority regulation occurred. (b) At the request of the judicial department, an authority shall consider establishing an administrative toll enforcement process and may, by resolution, adopt rules creating such a process. The rules pertaining to the administrative enforcement of toll evasion shall require notice to the person cited for toll evasion and provide to the person an opportunity to appear at an open hearing conducted by an impartial hearing officer and a right to appeal the final administrative determination of toll evasion to the county court for the county in which the violation occurred. (c) If an authority establishes an administrative toll enforcement process, no court of a municipality, county, or city and county shall have jurisdiction to hear toll evasion cases arising on a public highway operated by the authority. (d) A toll evasion case may be adjudicated by an impartial hearing officer in an administrative hearing conducted pursuant to this section and the rules promulgated by an authority. The hearing officer may be an administrative law judge employed by the state or an independent contractor of the authority. The contract for an independent contractor shall grant to the hearing officer the same degree of independence granted to an administrative law judge employed by the state. An authority may enter into contracts pursuant to section 29-1-203, C.R.S., for joint adjudication of toll evasion cases pursuant to this section. (e) An authority may file a certified copy of an order imposing a toll, fee, and civil penalty that is entered by the hearing officer in an adjudication of a toll evasion with the clerk of the county court in the county in which the violation occurred at any time after the order is entered. The clerk shall record the order in the judgment book of the court and enter it in the judgment docket. The order shall thenceforth have the effect of a judgment of the county court, and execution may issue on the order out of the court as in other cases. (f) An administrative adjudication of a toll evasion by an authority is subject to judicial review. The administrative adjudication may be appealed as to matters of law and fact to the county court for the county in which the violation occurred. The appeal shall be a de novo hearing. (g) Notwithstanding the specific remedies provided by this section, an authority shall have every remedy available under the law to enforce unpaid tolls and fees as debts owed to the authority. (5) The aggregate amount of penalties, exclusive of court costs, collected as a result of civil penalties imposed pursuant to resolutions adopted as authorized in subsection (2) of this section shall be remitted to the authority in whose name the civil penalty assessment notice was issued, and shall be applied by the authority to defray the costs and expenses of enforcing the laws of the state and the rules and regulations of the authority. If a municipal summons or complaint is issued, the aggregate penalty shall be apportioned pursuant to the terms of any enforcement agreement. (6) (a) In addition to the penalty assessment procedure provided for in subsection (3) of this section, where an instance of toll evasion is evidenced by automatic vehicle identification photography, or other technology not involving a peace officer, a civil penalty assessment notice may be issued and sent by first-class mail, or by any mail delivery service offered by an entity other than the United States postal service that is equivalent to or superior to first-class mail with respect to delivery speed, reliability, and price, by the public highway authority to the registered owner of the motor vehicle involved. The notice shall contain the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle involved, the license number of the vehicle involved, the time and location of the violation, the amount of the penalty prescribed for the violation, a place for the registered owner of the vehicle to execute a signed acknowledgment of liability for the cited violation, and such other information as may be required by law to constitute the notice as a complaint to appear for adjudication of a toll evasion civil penalty assessment. The registered owner of the vehicle involved in a toll evasion shall be liable for the toll, fee, and civil penalty imposed by the authority, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (a.5) of this subsection (6). If the registered owner of the vehicle does not pay the prescribed toll, fee, and civil penalty within thirty days of the date of the civil penalty assessment notice, the notice shall constitute a complaint to appear for adjudication of a toll evasion in court or in an administrative toll enforcement proceeding, and the registered owner of the vehicle shall, within the time specified in the notice, file an answer to the complaint in the manner specified in the notice. If the registered owner of the vehicle fails to pay in full the outstanding toll, fee, and civil penalty as set forth in the notice or to appear and answer the complaint and request a hearing as specified in the notice, a final order of liability shall be entered against the registered owner of the vehicle for the purposes of enabling the registered owner to appeal pursuant to paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of this section and allowing an authority to proceed to judgment pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of this section. (a.5) In addition to any other liability provided for in this section, the owner of a motor vehicle who is engaged in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles is liable for payment of a toll evasion violation civil penalty; except that, at the discretion of such owner: (I) The owner may obtain payment for a toll evasion violation civil penalty from the person or company who leased or rented the vehicle at the time of the toll evasion through a credit or debit card payment and forward the payment on to the public highway authority; or (II) The owner may seek to avoid liability for a toll evasion violation civil penalty if the owner of the leased or rented motor vehicle can furnish sufficient evidence that, at the time of the toll evasion violation, the vehicle was leased or rented to another person. To avoid liability for payment, the owner of the motor vehicle shall, within thirty days after receipt of the notification of the toll evasion violation, furnish to the public highway authority an affidavit containing the name, address, and state driver's license number of the person or company who leased or rented such vehicle. As a condition to avoid liability for payment of a toll evasion violation civil penalty, any person or company who leases or rents motor vehicles to a person shall include a notice in the leasing or rental agreement stating that, pursuant to the requirements of this section, the person renting or leasing the vehicle is liable for payment of a toll evasion violation civil penalty incurred on or after the date the person renting or leasing the vehicle takes possession of the motor vehicle. The notice shall inform the person renting or leasing the vehicle that the person's name, address, and state driver's license number shall be furnished to the public highway authority when a toll evasion violation civil penalty is incurred during the term of the lease or rental agreement. (b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2010, (SB 10-016), ch. 150, p. 518, § 1, effective April 21, 2010.) (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2005, p. 835, § 1, effective June 1, 2005.) (7) A court with jurisdiction in a toll evasion case pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of this section or an authority with jurisdiction in a toll evasion case pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of this section may report to the department of revenue any outstanding judgment or warrant or any failure to pay the toll, fee, and civil penalty for any toll evasion. Upon receipt of a certified report from a court or an authority stating that the owner of a registered vehicle has failed to pay a toll, fee, and civil penalty resulting from a final order entered by the authority, the department shall not renew the vehicle registration of the vehicle until the toll, fee, and civil penalty are paid in full. The authority shall contract with and compensate a vendor approved by the department for the direct costs associated with the nonrenewal of a vehicle registration pursuant to this subsection (7). The department has no authority to assess any points against a license under section 42-2-127, C.R.S., upon entry of a conviction or judgment for any toll evasion.
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