§ 45-37A-42.05 — Administrative Hearings; Contesting Liability; Fines and Costs; Affirmative Defenses

Alabama § 45-37A-42.05

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 45: Local Laws
• Ch. 37A: Jefferson County Municipalities
• Art. 4: Bessemer
• Part 3: Photographic Traffic Enforcement

Text

(a) An Administrative Hearing Officer appointed by the Mayor of the city is vested with the power and jurisdiction to conduct administrative hearings of civil violations provided for in this part.
(b) A person who receives a notice of violation may contest the imposition of the fine by submitting a request for an administrative hearing of the civil violation, in writing, within 15 days of the 10th day after the date the notice of violation is mailed. Upon receipt of a timely request, the city or its designee shall notify the person of the date and time of the administrative hearing by U.S. mail.
(c) Failure to pay a fine or to contest liability in a timely manner is an admission of liability in the full amount of the fine assessed in the notice of violation.
(d) Any fine imposed pursuant to this part shall not be collected if, after a hearing, the Administrative Hearing Officer appointed by the Mayor of the city enters a finding of no liability.
(e) If an administrative hearing is requested, the city shall have the burden of proving the traffic signal violation, stop sign violation, or speeding violation by a preponderance of the evidence. The reliability of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system or photographic stop sign enforcement system used to produce the recorded image of the violation may be attested to by affidavit of a trained technician. An affidavit of a trained technician that alleges a violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded image is admissible in a proceeding under this part and is evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit.
(f) The notice of violation, the recorded and reproduced images of the traffic signal violation, stop sign violation, or speeding violation, regardless of the media on which they are recorded, accompanied by a certification of authenticity of a trained technician, and evidence of ownership of a vehicle as shown by copies or summaries of official records shall be admissible into evidence without foundation unless the Administrative Hearing Officer finds there is an indication of untrustworthiness, in which case the city shall be given a reasonable opportunity to lay an evidentiary foundation.
(g) All other matters of evidence and procedure not specifically addressed in this part shall be subject to the rules of evidence and the rules of procedure as they apply in the small claims courts of this state, except that on any petition to Jefferson County Circuit Court for trial de novo, the evidence and procedures shall be as for any civil case in the district court except as otherwise provided in this part.
(h) A person who is found liable for a civil violation pursuant to this part after an administrative hearing or who requests a hearing and thereafter fails to appear at the time and place of the hearing is liable for administrative hearing costs and fees set out herein in addition to the amount of the fine assessed for the violation. A person who is found liable for a civil violation after an administrative hearing shall pay the fine and costs within 10 days of the hearing.
(i) Whenever payment of a fine is owed to the city, the amount of the fine as set by ordinance may not be increased, decreased, or abated by the city, and the liability may be satisfied only by payment.
(j) It shall be an affirmative defense to the imposition of civil liability under this part, to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the following conditions existed:
(1) The traffic control signal was not in proper position and sufficiently visible 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 Sections 32-5A-7 and 32-5-213, and that the operator was acting in compliance with those sections.
(5) The motor vehicle was stolen or 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 than 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 part more dangerous under the circumstances than noncompliance.
(8) There was no sign installed as required by this act near the location at which the violation allegedly occurred warning that a photographic traffic signal enforcement system was being used.
(k) To establish 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, prior to the time of the violation or promptly following the theft, had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
(l) No person who rents to another person or is the lessor of a motor vehicle pursuant to a written lease agreement, nor any affiliates thereof, shall be liable for a photographic stop sign traffic enforcement system, photographic vehicle speed enforcement system, or photographic traffic signal enforcement system violation involving such motor vehicle during the period of the rental or lease, provided that upon request of the city or its designee received within 60 days after the violation occurred, such person provides to the city within 30 days after receipt of such request the name and address of the renter or lessee of such motor vehicle. The driver’s license number of the renter or lessee may be subsequently specifically requested by the city or its designee if needed for the enforcement of this part. Upon the provision by the lessor, its affiliate, or its designee, of the information as described in this subsection, the city or its designee may issue a new notice of violation to the renter or lessee of the vehicle in the same manner it would issue a notice of violation to an owner pursuant to Section 45-37A-42.04, except that the notice will be sent no later than 30 days after receiving the renter’s or lessee’s information from the person, or any affiliate thereof, who rented or leased the motor vehicle. The renter or lessee may be held liable for the violation in the same manner that an owner may be held liable pursuant hereto.
(m) Notwithstanding anything in this part to the contrary, a person who fails to pay the amount of a fine or to contest liability in a timely manner is nevertheless entitled to an administrative hearing on the violation in either of the following circumstances:
(1) The person files a sworn affidavit with the hearing officer stating the date on which the person received the notice of violation that was mailed to the person, if such notice was not received by the 10th day after same was mailed as set out in subsection (a) of Section 45-37A-42.04.
(2) Within 15 days of the date of actual receipt of such notice, such person requests an administrative hearing.

Legislative History

(Act 2016-323, §6.)