Texas Transportation Code 720.002 – Prohibition On Traffic-Offense Quotas
(a) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or discipline:
(1) a peace officer according to the officer’s issuance of a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations; or
(2) a justice of the peace or a judge of a county court, statutory county court, municipal court, or municipal court of record according to the amount of money the justice or judge collects from persons convicted of a traffic offense.
(b) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not require or suggest to a peace officer, a justice of the peace, or a judge of a county court, statutory county court, municipal court, or municipal court of record:
(1) that the peace officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations within a specified period; or
(2) that the justice or judge is required or expected to collect a predetermined amount of money from persons convicted of a traffic offense within a specified period.
Terms Used In Texas Transportation Code 720.002
- Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 737, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.
(d) This section does not prohibit a municipality from obtaining budgetary information from a municipal court or a municipal court of record, including an estimate of the amount of money the court anticipates will be collected in a budget year.
(e) A violation of this section by an elected official is misconduct and a ground for removal from office. A violation of this section by a person who is not an elected official is a ground for removal from the person’s position.
(f) In this section:
(1) “Conviction” means the rendition of an order by a court imposing a punishment of incarceration or a fine.
(2) “Traffic offense” means an offense under:
(A) Chapter 521; or
(B) Subtitle C.