Travis County Commissioners Court
May 4, 2010,
Item 16
Number 16 is to consider and take appropriate action on request to use the local initiative program grant on a pilot program to identify vehicles that have a counter fit state inspection.
>> for the record, my name is adele noel. This program is to consider using the local initiative projects grant to fund a program to identify and take appropriate action on programs. It's estimated 20 percent of all vehicles on the road have a or fake emission certificate. With the austin area being so close to nonattainment and with epa lowering the standard and with the amount of money that travis county residents spent on this program, it's imperative that we take actions to make sure this program is being used appropriately, the emissions maintenance program. There are two corrections on the promise summary. I almost forgot. The dollar amount has slightly changed due to adding an extra training program. The total funding for the program will be $172,179, and 43 000 would be the county match. And this is to add a third training class for law enforcement officers.
>> how will the county match be done? We will use county facilities for the training for this program, the rental of the building and setup for the training will be the match for that training program. It will be an in kind donation. The rest of the match for this program will be the officers salaries and what the travis county pays for fringe benefits. There won't be anything coming out of the county budget.
>> so the salaries and fringe benefits are already budgeted.
>> yes.
>> if the officers spend time on this program, we would be able to take whatever salaries and fringe benefits are associated with that time, charge it against the grant, or user it as a local match basically.
>> the fringe benefits is a match. Their salaries the grant reimburses us for. The actual officers time used on this program.
>> no new money from the county.
>> correct.
>> commissioner?
>> i guess after the thorough training that will take place for the officers who will be involved in this particular new program, with all of that put in plates, how long would --in place, how long would it be, if the court decides to go in this direction, to am brace this particular program to move forward, all the moving parts coming together, in essence, to move forward.
>> immediately after the training is competed each officer will have access to the database which will allow them to more easily identify a counter feit or fake certificate. Within an hour of completing the training.
>> so they are ready to get out in the field and enforce to identify the counter feit situations.
>> that is correct.
>> do we know how many officers will be involved in this endeavor?
>> there will be 20 officers from the sheriffs's department and approximately 13 from the constable.
>> 33 tote can you repeat that--
>> can you repeat that, adele?
>> there will be 20 officers from the sheriffs department and 13 from the constable.
>> do we know which constables?
>> in the backup material, the slot numbers or employee i.d.s are identified.
>> okay.
>> and more ofters can be added to the program as it progresses if each department sees appropriate and court approves.
>> my concern, if we look at this, it's kind of all encompassing as far as looking the a the bottom line. That is to look at vehicles that may be operating out there with counterfeit certificates of inspection. And we are now embarked on a pretty tough situation with the air emission situation we're dealing with right now as far as maybe getting into a nonattainment scat us status. My question is if travis county is doing, is going in this direction, we are caught in with other adjacentant counties. If we are looking at overall emissions, let's face it, the air quality and the air has no, you know, there's no such thing as borders. It moves all over the place. So i guess my concern is who else, what other counties would be aggressive involved in this? It's more of like a regional approach to make sure we get a good handle on some of the air emissions situations here.
>> williamson county is also looking to do a similar program in their county as well. This grant is available only to counties that already have an emissions inspection program, which williamson and travis county are the only two in central texas that have voluntarily entered in an agreement to do the emissions testing.
>> commissioner davis, i'd like to add also that we received some preliminary information that austin police department is going to initiate a similar program.
>> so apd is thinking about, the city of austin--
>> i characterize it as preliminary indications.
>> so they may be joining also in this effort, apd.
>> yes.
>> city of austin, rather.
>> yes.
>> i also might add that any vehicle in travis county whether from an outlying county or not, is eligible to be pulled over. The database we use is a statewide database. People from williamson or any other county, our own county, do not have legitimate tags, can be tagged.
>> that is where i pose the question. You know, as far as borders that don't respect as far as pollution, air pollution does in the respect borders and that is why i brought up the other thing about other counties. When we really look at this overall picture as far as reducing our harmful air emissions from vehicles, of course there is a lot of contributing factors other than the folks that reside in travis county. So of course we are looking as far as travis and also williamson county. But it just kind of will be good i guess if other counties would also be involved with this because we have a regional approach when it comes to epa stuff. You know, they look at all of us. That is what i'm kind of concerned about.
>> i think behind it also is not so much the vehicle and the vehicle owner who have a falsified tag but those who are producing them. It's a criminal activity that is also at heart of this program.
>> right, right.
>> producing and selling.
>> very true. I wanted to bring that portion out too about the inspection phase of it.
>> commissioner eckhardt.
>> i had a couple of questions with regard to the total grant award is $443,186.
>> that is correct.
>> over how long?
>> currently our grant ends on august 31 of this year.
>> uh-huh.
>> tceq has verbally told me that they will extend the grant. It's just a matter of getting the amendment to us. The money will roll over for the following year after that. But currently, and this is why we are only using a portion of the money. This is the amount that we could use up until august 31, 2010.
>> i see.
>> we can amend this during the year between now and then if we need to add funds to it.
>> so do the apd efforts come out of the same grant?
>> that would be up to the court to decide. We could do an interlocal and give them some of these funds, or we could leave it all here for the county.
>> with regard to, i think this is a wonderful program that shows promise in being able to create the type of database or enrich the type of database that will make it possible for us to track back to the producers. With regard to detective work in tracking back to the producers, does this grant cover our costs with regard to that detective work?
>> yes, it does.
>> okay.
>> and our access to ned, are there any prerequisites? I know that we have currently access to ned. Will we have continued access to ned?
>> yes, the net cogis committed to making this work statewide. They are looking to not just expand ned and having us use it but harris county and the whole houston area is looking to joining the program as well. They say they will grant us access to it. If we wish to change any of the database, the face, the front screen, to make it easier for offices, they are willing to do that as well at no additional charge.
>> is there any charge to our access to ned?
>> there is no charge the only requirement is that we reimburse them for the training for them coming here, which has been allocated here in the budget for that.
>> okay. With regard to the state money, and we can do this now, we have all the authority to do this sort of initiative right now whether we get state money or not. Correct?
>> correct.
>> what i'd like to know, one thing i do get a little concerned about, i do want to continue to put focus on the detective work necessary to track back to the producers because i do get concerned that this will be, you know, sweeps and parking lots will be additional fines and fees on folks who couldn't afford to get a new car and therefore couldn't afford to get the inspection on their old car and therefore get their license yanked ultimately because they don't show up for jail. You see where i'm going with this. So much of a cut does the state get on the fines that are levied?
>> i want to back up and say another requirement of using ned is that we signed a user agreement saying that the passwords will only be used for law enforcement purposes and we will not disclose for public use. It's a pretty brief agreement that we agree to. Secondly, information about air check texas, drive a clean machine or the lilac program will be given out to people found to have a crounterfeit certificate to help them come into . $57 of the fine goes back to the state. However, if an individual does come into compliance with the vehicle, it does pass the inspection within 60 days, the fine is reduced considerably. It's less than $50. I want to say it's a $20 fine if they get it fixed within 60 day.
>> is that statutory or at the discretion of the prosecutor? That is what is being currently done right now.
>> so sounds like it's at the discretion of the prosecutor. Again, i think that this is a program that shows tremendous potential to track back to the producers and really improve our air. I think it also, i think we must stress that detective work. Otherwise it also has the potential to go the way of some of our driving law license sus suspended for failure to have insurance issues where we have a lot of folks who are in a financial pickle getting popped for basically a poverty crime. But i'm very appreciatetive of the program. If the state keeps funding the lirap program then we have the ability to. Folks--to help folks not just punish. I appreciate that.
>> mr. Preist.
>> thank you, judge, morris priest. I want to say most of this is stemming from the driver responsibility program and tex dot transportation code as well as the transportation whether codes or we see most of these people being stopped for offenses are not in possessing of counter fitsticker, they have possessing a stolen sticker or one that has been altered. So it's a very low percentage of counterfeit. Basically if travis county hadn't signed on, williamson and counties like hays that didn't sign on to emissions, we surely didn't accomplish anything as far as emissions. You saw all the legislation we had with that when travis county signed on and they raise the inspection sticker whatever it was, $12, you saw all these signs showing up in all the mechanic shops about where you can go and get help, funding to buy a new car or to buy a used car. Or if you couldn't make your payments on fixing your car. This is just another thing like pass through financing now the county is building state roads. And now the county sheriffs are being asked to step into the purview of the department of public safety. And the department of public safety tells me that every funding program they have ever done has costs them more money, normally twice as much money the first year. In other words, any program that you sign on to such as this you will be spending more money. Then eventually they will get no funding. Yet you will still be required to do this program just like we are required to do the inspection stickers. Most of this, future, in fact, the documentation is already there if you want to research it. You can check with the tex registry or department of public safety would probably be a better place or tex dot, you will have another program come in with licensing. To combat counter feit licensing and another program for registration on the vehicle and another program and all these will be back to back and you will see them. Another program with insurance. We already know that police offices, certain vehicles and jurisdictions they have cars where you can tell if you have all these things and basically it's just a tracking and tracing grid. And so you are going to see all these things. At the same time the county when it does its transportation funding is going to look at local options so they will think it's really no big deal the raise the driver as license $10 or the vehicle inspection or any other thing that you may choose for a local option funding source. But then you are going to find out that dps has been asking for years ago $70 increase on the driver's license and now talking about one hundred and two hundred. With all these other programs we will have the county put a $10 fee on some inspection stickers that covers some trans takes program and then you will find that dps or driver's license will be coming right behind that adding another fee. Basically this is just a failed transportation policy, funding policy that has run amuck and has gun into every area --gone into every area and basically is not a situation that the county should be in. This is really just a situation that we're being, having the life sucked out of us by our government.
>> thank you mr. Priest. Mr. Refer seed.
>> well, if he had something directly to say to that?
>> this is your opportunity to give comments.
>> i'm sorry. Just a follow-up. About a point made earlier. On the persecution of violators. That do fake tag production that points to other crimes potentially. I'm wondering is there a follow through procedure for when you find somebody who has created this, even though it maybe doesn't happen all the time. Somebody who has gone to the effort of creating this fake thing to get an i --away with this other crime. Does that not lead to other things like insurance and drunk driving, are those given passes for anybody? Is there anybody given a pass on this is month i question am --is my question. I understand that--
>> is there an answer to the do you question? Do you know?
>> i don't understand the question.
>> sorks --sorry, i was trying to get. My understanding of truth on the road, certain individuals if they don't have insurance or caught drunk driving, my golly, if they don't have papers they just let them go. I'm wondering if that is the case, if that is planned. If everybody is going to be nailed if they don't have the right tags, is everybody going to have to pay for that? Are there passes given on that that you know of?
>> i think you are talking about enforcement discretion kinds of things.
>> yes.
>> i think that would be better for law enforcement official to answer.
>> here we have major claire.
>> all right.
>> certainly that is an officer discretion issue. As i see this program evolving we would have to have discretion because we have to be able to prove that they knew that that sticker on their vehicle was in fact counterfeit. I actually ena person --actually envision a person can go into one of these sites with a car these not going to meet standards and they wouldn't know it. The owner of the shop might take pity on them or whatever and give them a fake sticker without them even knowing it. So we are going to have to be very careful how we enforce this. Certainly informing the person that their sticker is fictitious is the first step.
>> major claire, let me ask you.
>> are you done mr. Refer seed?
>> yes, thank you.
>> thank you. Commissioner.
>> with regard to the detective follow-up work on that type scenario that you lay out, is our access to ned, i could envision, let me throw this out and see if this is realistic, by being able to load up information regarding that fictitious inspection sticker, although no charge was levied against that individual, would that possibly help our jurisdiction or other participating jurisdictions track it back to the manufacturer?
>> certainly we would be able to then focus in on locations that tests keep coming up on the radar, as it were. It's my plan for the sheriffs department to.
>> turn the microphone on, please.
>> it's my plan for the sheriffs department to actually focus some special efforts with the money that we receive back in overtime funds. My detectives are quite taxed already. I have had some initial concern about the investigative end of this. I don't think it's fiscally responsible for us to spend overtime we haven't already known that we are going to need this year. But i think we also have a duty to investigate what we find and not simply give citations and think that the state is going to be able do that. They are taxed as well. We do have a plan to do follow-up and work these places if they are in travis county. If they are not in travis county that information through the database will be forwarded out to those locations.
>> i really appreciate it.
>> uh-huh.
>> i have quo questions--i have two questions. One is how will we know whether the program has been successful or not 12 months from now?
>> we can use ned to do a reporting, to find out the number of citations that have been issued, the number of vehicles that have been sited for counterfeit or fake emission certificates. We can go back in using ned to find out if those vehicles have indeed acquired a valid inspection certificate. The goal of the program is compliance with air quality rules and regulations. Not necessarily enforcement.
>> we could do that. Will we?
>> yes, we will.
>> so that is part of the program.
>> yes.
>> okay.
>> another part of the program we are looking into developing a web page where individuals could send in their license plate number and we would check it the make sure that their certificate on their vehicle is valid.
>> does dallas generate that information periodically?
>> which information? They update ned.
>> performance related information.
>> yes, we send them a request and they can do it.
>> but when we do our own, we'll generate our own data or do we depend on them?
>> we depend upon them. They are the owners of the database.
>> they will do that free of charge.
>> yes, sir.
>> okay, dallas county owns the database.
>> north central texas.
>> yes.
>> owns the database.
>> yes.
>> but the data is generated by the state of texas.
>> it's a combination from the state of texas using gps information for their database and ned cogdeveloped the database based upon that information and information from tceq and put it all into one.
>> any more questions or comments?
>> i had one morphine comment--more, final comment.
>> commissioner davis and ms. Web.
>> law enforcement will be chosen to pursue this particular program, the training that they will have to have to make sure they are familiar with the database. Twenty from the sheriffs department and 13 from the constables office. My concern is when citations are issued to the individuals that have the certification issue from both of these different departments, what exists now as far as citations form, ticket per se, any indication on the ticket that show exactly what this particular violation was for, the tracking mechanism so maybe be able to get the kind of measurements, standard column made available to the offices, the law enforcement that are out dealing with this program. What kind of citation is available now on that. And does it have to be reform mated or is it form mated to take care of the situation at hand?
>> are you talking about the citations we use now?
>> yes.
>> we already have a charge in the system for a fictitious inspection sticker.
>> okay.
>> those things have been happening for years.
>> i'm saying on your end but the constable's end. In other words are both law enforcements using the same citation form.
>> stacy?
>> stacy sights, chief deputy precinct 3.
>> yes, sir.
>> we have been currently tracking all our citations in excel program, and we can pull it up. I can have you report this afternoon if you like.
>> ed to.
>> i wanted to know if it existed. If not we have to be sure both law enforcement agencies are reporting the same report so we will have legible data at some point in this particular program. You all both are using it on your citation that you issue. That i was my main concern.
>> yes, sir.
>> mr. Weber, you were about to make a commentyes, siryes, sir.
>> yes, sir. We have been focusing on the immunetive aspect of people knowingingly or willingly disobeying this law. I wanted to point out that this is also a consumer protection program from the standpoint of someone purchasing a used car, they have the tools available to them. As adele started to talk about, we are going to develop a website so that people can enter their data and find out, is that sticker on that used car something that is valid. So that someone who purchases a vehicle doesn't find out when they are pulled over or maybe the next year they get by and go to the emissions shop and it won't pass the emissions and they are saddled with that kind of a financial hardship. So i think that is one of the goals of this program too, is to get that awareness level higher about what vehicles need to do to operate in this day and age when you are facing things like ozone nonattainment.
>> if i'm driving a used car with a fictitious sticker and an officer calls that to my attention, i know where i got the car. And i can tell the officer that.
>> certainly.
>> and that won't necessarily lead directly to the generator of the fictitious sticker, but i guess there should be a chain there of some sort that ultimately will lead us to the wrong doer.
>> right, because we would actually initiate a report that would be an investigation.
>> if we approve this today, we will be operational when?
>> hopefully by june 1 we can start training our officers on may 25 and the 26th in this classes on how to use ned.
>> okay. And it will be also, the rest of the training can be taken on how it can be finished up at a later date very quickly.
>> okay, may i request a report every 90 days for the first year? Let's see how it's coming? That way key can evaluate.
>> actually, i need to back up. I forgot one important step in this process. We will be up and operational as soon as tceq signs off on our project summary, which is attached as backup for the judge's signature. We send that to tceq and they send it back and we have access to the grant funds. We can start the program as soon as the training is done.
>> if we approve today our county judge needs to sign this immediately.
>> okay.
>> anymore discussion?
>> move approval.
>> i do have one thing.
>> okay.
>> i would like to give you an idea of at the sheriffs office. I don't want you to get an impression. When they do a normal traffic stop this will be a step they include in the encounter. There may be times where they see a car involved in a situation, in a fight or parking lot, we're simply adding another step into the officer's regular duties. I just wanted to make sure the court was clear on that. I don't have a lot of extra time my guys are going to be running around looking for stickers.
>> .
>> judge, you did give me a chance. I did have a follow through on that question that wasn't quite answered about the officers. Is there or is there not a policy to, for the sake of saving officers time, to not hassle with illegal aliens for drunk driving or for insurance problems?
>> no, we don't have policy on that.
>> all right, thanks.
>> move approval.
>> second.
>> anymore discussion? All in favor. That passes by unanimous vote. Thank you all very much.
>> thank you for your explanation.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 1:50 PM
