Can Texas put red-light enforcement cameras on state highway rights-of-way?

TX AG Opinion GA-0440: Can TxDOT put red-light cameras on highway rights-of-way?

Plain-English summary

The Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation asked the Attorney General two questions: whether the department had authority to place cameras on state highway rights-of-way to enforce compliance with traffic-control signals, and whether the department could let local authorities install camera equipment on those rights-of-way for the same purpose. Because the request asked in general terms and did not describe a particular enforcement plan, the opinion answered generally.

The opinion concluded the department may install the cameras. A traffic-control signal is a device that alternately directs traffic to stop and proceed, a driver must stop at a red light, and failing to stop is a misdemeanor. A photographic monitoring system uses a camera upstream of an intersection that activates when the signal turns red and photographs the license plate of a vehicle that runs the light, which helps law enforcement identify the owner. The department is governed by the Texas Transportation Commission, which has broad statutory authority to plan, locate, construct, maintain, and operate the state highway system and to designate state highways, all to promote public safety and manage traffic. Under that authority, the department may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to assist in promoting public safety and enforcing traffic laws. The opinion noted the department had already installed photographic equipment with several cities as part of an "Intelligent Traffic System."

On the second question, the opinion concluded the department may permit local authorities to install the equipment. A "local authority" (a county, municipality, or other local entity that can enact traffic laws) may not place or maintain a traffic-control device on a highway under the department's jurisdiction without the department's permission. The Transportation Code lets the commission and a municipality agree to control and regulate a designated state highway and set their respective responsibilities, and the department has adopted a rule on when it may install and operate traffic signals on the state highway system. Because the department has authority to permit local authorities to install traffic-control signals on state highway rights-of-way, it may also permit them to install camera equipment to monitor compliance with those signals for the purpose of enforcing traffic laws.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Texas law on automated traffic enforcement changed significantly after 2006. The Transportation Code provisions cited here may have been amended, and the legislature later restricted the use of photographic traffic-signal enforcement. Anyone researching whether a Texas red-light or traffic-signal camera program is permitted today must check the current statutes, not this 2006 opinion, which addressed only the department's general authority to place such cameras on highway rights-of-way at the time.

Who this opinion affected (as of 2006)

The Texas Department of Transportation: The opinion concluded the department could install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to monitor traffic-signal compliance and assist traffic-law enforcement, under the Transportation Commission's broad highway authority.

Cities and counties (local authorities): The opinion concluded the department could permit them to install camera equipment in connection with traffic-control signals on state highway rights-of-way, but only with the department's permission for devices on highways under its jurisdiction.

Drivers on state highways: The opinion described how such systems photograph the license plate of a vehicle that runs a red light to help law enforcement identify the owner, addressing the legal authority for placing the cameras rather than how any ticket would be issued.

Common questions

Could TxDOT install red-light cameras on state highway rights-of-way?
According to the opinion, yes. The department's authority flowed from the Transportation Commission's broad power over the state highway system to promote public safety and manage traffic.

Could a city put its own cameras on a state highway?
Only with permission. The opinion explained a local authority may not place a traffic-control device on a highway under the department's jurisdiction without the department's permission, and the department could grant that permission for camera equipment tied to traffic signals.

What is a "traffic-control signal" here?
The opinion used the statutory definition: a manual, electric, or mechanical device that alternately directs traffic to stop and to proceed. Running a red light is a misdemeanor.

Did the opinion approve a specific ticketing program?
No. The opinion answered only the general question of authority to place the cameras and expressly did not address any particular enforcement plan.

Background and statutory framework

A "traffic-control signal" is "a manual, electric, or mechanical device that alternately directs traffic to stop and to proceed" (Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 541.304(3) (Vernon 1999)); a driver must stop at a red light (§ 544.007(d) (Vernon Supp. 2005)), and failing to stop is a misdemeanor (§ 542.301 (Vernon 1999)). The department is governed by the Texas Transportation Commission (§ 201.201 (Vernon 1999)), which the legislature has vested with authority over the state highway system (§§ 201.101, .103, .104 (Vernon 1999 & Supp. 2005)). The commission must plan and make policies for the location, construction, and maintenance of a comprehensive system of state highways and designate necessary highways (§ 201.103(a)-(b) (Vernon Supp. 2005)), and may "lay out, construct, maintain, and operate a modern state highway system" to promote public safety, facilitate traffic, preserve the public investment, and promote national defense (§ 203.002(a)(1) (Vernon 1999)). The opinion concluded that, under this broad authority, the department may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to assist in promoting public safety and enforcing traffic laws.

On the second question, a "local authority" (county, municipality, or other entity authorized to enact traffic laws) "may not place or maintain a traffic-control device on a highway under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Transportation without that department's permission" (Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 544.002(c); see § 541.002(3)(A) (defining "local authority")). Section 221.002 lets the commission and a municipal governing body agree to provide for the control, supervision, and regulation of a designated state highway and to establish their respective liabilities and responsibilities (§ 221.002). The department has also adopted a rule stating when it may install, maintain, and operate traffic signals on the state highway system in unincorporated and incorporated areas (43 Tex. Admin. Code § 25.5 (2006)). Because the department has statutory authority to permit local authorities to install traffic-control signals on state highway rights-of-way, the opinion concluded it may also permit them to install camera equipment to monitor compliance with those signals for the purpose of enforcing traffic laws.

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Transp. Code Ann. §§ 541.002(3)(A), 541.304(3), 542.301, 544.002(c), 544.007(d), 201.101, .103, .104, 201.103(a)-(b), 201.201, 203.002(a)(1), 221.002 (Vernon 1999 & Supp. 2005)
• 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 25.5 (2006)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0440
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2006/ga0440.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain - the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

June 23, 2006

Mr. Michael W. Behrens, P.E.
Executive Director
Texas Department of Transportation
125 East 11th Street
Austin, Texas 78701-2483

Opinion No. GA-0440

Re: Installation of cameras on state highway rights-of-way to enforce compliance with traffic-control signals (RQ-0427-GA)

Dear Mr. Behrens:

You ask whether the Texas Department of Transportation (the "department") has authority to place cameras on state highway rights-of-way to enforce compliance with traffic-control signals.[1] You also ask whether the department may permit local authorities to install camera equipment on state highway rights-of-way for this purpose.

A "traffic-control signal" is "a manual, electric, or mechanical device that alternately directs traffic to stop and to proceed." TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 541.304(3) (Vernon 1999). A vehicle operator must stop at a red light, see id. § 544.007(d) (Vernon Supp. 2005), and the failure to stop is a misdemeanor offense. See id. § 542.301 (Vernon 1999).

A photographic traffic monitoring system typically consists of a camera located upstream of an intersection regulated by a traffic-control signal. See CESAR QUIROGA, P.E., EDGAR KRAUS, IDA VAN SCHALKWYK, AND JAMES BONNESON, P.E., RED LIGHT RUNNING-A POLICY REVIEW (Mar. 2003) (Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System) at 30-31.[2] A pavement sensor is located just before the stop line. See id. The camera becomes active after the signal turns red and photographs the license plate of a vehicle that runs the red light, thus making it possible to identify the vehicle owner. See id. A second camera may be located downstream of the intersection to photograph the vehicle's driver. See id. A photographic traffic monitoring system thus provides information that assists law enforcement officers and agencies to enforce traffic control laws.

You ask a general question about the department's authority to place cameras on state highway rights-of-way to enforce compliance with traffic-control signals and do not inquire about a particular enforcement plan. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. Accordingly, we address your question in general terms.

The department is governed by the Texas Transportation Commission (the "commission"). See TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 201.201 (Vernon 1999). The legislature has vested authority in the commission to provide for a state highway system. See id. §§ 201.101, .103, .104 (Vernon 1999 & Supp. 2005). The commission "shall plan and make policies for the location, construction, and maintenance of a comprehensive system of state highways and public roads" and "shall designate as part of the state highway system a highway that it determines is necessary for the proper development and operation of the system." Id. § 201.103(a)-(b) (Vernon Supp. 2005). The commission may "lay out, construct, maintain, and operate a modern state highway system" in order to "promote public safety, facilitate the movement of traffic, preserve the public's financial investment in highways, [and] promote the national defense." Id. § 203.002(a)(1) (Vernon 1999).

Pursuant to the commission's broad authority over the state highway system, the department may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to assist in promoting public safety, facilitating the movement of traffic, and otherwise implementing its powers and duties with respect to state highways. The department, in cooperation with certain cities, has already installed photographic equipment on highway rights-of-way and elsewhere in the cities as part of an "Intelligent Traffic System" designed to provide motorists with information about travel times, to permit quicker response times for emergency personnel, and otherwise to manage traffic.[3] The department may also install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to monitor compliance with traffic-control signals, thus assisting law enforcement officers and entities to enforce traffic laws and to provide for the public safety on state highways.

You also ask whether the department may permit local authorities to install camera equipment on state highway rights-of-way to enforce compliance with traffic-control signals. A "local authority," which includes a county, a municipality, and any other local entity authorized to enact traffic laws under the laws of this state, "may not place or maintain a traffic-control device on a highway under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Transportation without that department's permission." Id. § 544.002(c); see id. § 541.002(3)(A) (defining "local authority"). Transportation Code section 221.002 provides that the commission and a municipal governing body may agree to: "(1) provide for the . . . control, supervision, and regulation of a designated state highway in the municipality; and (2) establish the respective liabilities and responsibilities of the commission and the municipality under the agreement." Id. § 221.002. The department has moreover adopted a rule stating the circumstances when the department "may install, maintain, and operate traffic signals on the state highway system" in unincorporated areas and in incorporated cities. See 43 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 25.5 (2006) (Tex. Dep't of Transp., Installation, Operation, and Maintenance of Traffic Signals). The department has statutory authority to permit local authorities to install traffic-control signals on state highway rights-of-way. Pursuant to this authority, it may permit local entities to install camera equipment to monitor compliance with traffic-control signals for the purpose of enforcing traffic laws.

SUMMARY

The Texas Department of Transportation may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to monitor compliance with traffic-control signals for the purpose of enforcing traffic laws on state highways. The department may also permit local authorities to install camera equipment in connection with traffic-control signals on state highway rights-of-way for the same purpose.

GREG ABBOTT
Attorney General of Texas

KENT C. SULLIVAN
First Assistant Attorney General

ELLEN L. WITT
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

NANCY S. FULLER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Susan L. Garrison
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

Footnotes

1. Letter from Mr. Michael W. Behrens, P.E., Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas (Dec. 20, 2005) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us) [hereinafter Request Letter].

2. Available at http://imr.tamu.edu/projects/RLRPublications.htm (last visited June 23, 2006).

3. See Traffic Management Systems (ITS) for Amarillo, at http://amaits.dot.state.tx.us/; Dallas, Fort Worth, at http://dfwtraffic.dot.state.tx.us/; El Paso, at http://www.transvista.dot.state.tx.us/; Houston, at http://www.houstontranstar.org/; and San Antonio, at http://www.transguide.dot.state.tx.us/ (last visited June 23, 2006).