Texas Driver Responsibility Surcharge Program Petition!!!!!

[Joe]

I recently had to pay this so called surcharges which if I don't I lose my cdl I lose my job because of it and they wonder why were in debt payments like these only depleed us and only drill us into further debt I got it for no insurance I was stupid I know but seriously I here the stories on here and at one point have thought of going bonkers my self my advice apply to the indagence program my cousin did and all 2grand plus of fines was redused to 50 bucks or so. I hate to be the one to tell u all but this is one of those things were the law wins pay up or get more fines trust me this makes me want to move out of tx. Sad but true

[Rhian]

Shockj2000 wrote:

To victim of the state.. lets get this clear... the issues we face in tx is do to liberals and soft republicans that are in charge right now.. if we had real conservatives or libertarians in office, shit like this wouldn't happen and i don't know how u figure corporations into the equation of government surcharges... educate your selves please....

Corporations figure into the equation because collections have been turned over to a corporation. At first, this surcharge was labelled a fee, but since it doesn't appear on your court record, you never agreed to it, & it falls under unlawful fines and fees as well as double jeopardy. So they started calling it a tax, except because it was turned over to a private corporation for collection, it fell under an illegal taxation on a select few citizens carried out by a private corporation. Taxes may only be collected by the government. In all technicalities, the Texas surcharge violates at least two separate Amendments of the US Constitution. Trying to get a lawyer to fight it however, is something else entirely. Can't even get the ACLU to call me back. This surcharge has gotten so out of control, you have cities like Ft Worth and Dallas suing the state. Even the original author is now against the surcharge, calling it a stupid idea. The problem is, every court they take it to just throws the case out. So we the people are stuck with this farce of a law until someone grows some cajones and is willing to fight back.

[terry]

David knox wrote:

Hey i have 15 surcharges of 260$ each. and there's more coming. i signed the petition, but i need some help on what i can do as far as the law or my license. it's messing up my life horribly and this has got to change. if you could email me back at [e-mail] asap. thank you.

Did u ever get an answer, I am going through the same thing

[Robin]

This is targeting the poor. The rich aren't being hindered by these surcharges. People are struggling to get by and they are making it even harder. This is just not right.

My husband and I were both laid off. My car was repossessed. We managed to scrape together enough money to buy a run down car but I could not afford the insurance for another month. I had found a part time job and was doing the best I could to get enough gas to get back and forth to work. I didn't have insurance on my car for a month. I got pulled over and ticketed. I paid the ticket and got insurance asap. Guess what I have now been without my license for over a year. I have paid 1600 dollars in surcharges and I am still waiting for them to update their records with an SR22 so I can have a license again. I have never had so much as a speeding ticket. I have never been in a accident. I am 35 years old this was just bad timing for us financially.

This is just plain wrong. They are targeting the most vulnerable people. Children are missing out because their parents are stuck in this mess. I used to love Texas my family has been here for 6 generations but I am ashamed of how they are now treating people.

[Jason]

They are worse than gangsters,, Texas dont have a state TAX,, with the SURCHARGE they dont need one. They figured out a way to target a certain class of people with a never ending tax that they can control and dip into at will. This particular program makes it almost impossible to get out of the system. They dont allow you to pay the whole amount up front,, they drag it out over 3 years to make sure there is plenty of time to to screw you over and keep you locked in. This SYSTEM may be the most screwed up I have ever seen in any type of Government!

[marco]

i just got the great news that my license was suspended. I had payed off three surcharges last year along with all my tickets. It took a second job to catch up but i figured it was worth it. I found out through my insurance company recently that my license was suspended. I thought it was a mistake. I then found out that the surcharges that I had already payed last year needed to be payed for 3 years straight. Man i couldnt believe it. The real problem is talking to a live person to get answers. You have to call several different departments who never answer the phones to get answers. I do not want to live in this state any longer.Ive payed the surcharges and still no one can tell me how to get my license back. Ive had insuance for the last 2 years WTF!!!!!!!!!!

[Lisa]

marco wrote:

i just got the great news that my license was suspended. I had payed off three surcharges last year along with all my tickets. It took a second job to catch up but i figured it was worth it. I found out through my insurance company recently that my license was suspended. I thought it was a mistake. I then found out that the surcharges that I had already payed last year needed to be payed for 3 years straight. Man i couldnt believe it. The real problem is talking to a live person to get answers. You have to call several different departments who never answer the phones to get answers. I do not want to live in this state any longer.Ive payed the surcharges and still no one can tell me how to get my license back. Ive had insuance for the last 2 years WTF!!!!!!!!!!

You won't be able to get your license back until the suspension is lifted; however, you can obtain an occupational drivers license by filing a petition with your local court and, once the petition has been signed by the judge, send the signed petition to Austin and they will mail you back an occupational license (hard copy). You can do this yourself, the forms are online, or you can hire an attorney. It cost me about $200 to pay the filing and court fees to get the occupational license until my suspension was lifted but it was worth it to not have to worry about getting another ticket for driving with a suspended license.

[El Paso Texan]

Me like many many of you are ashamed and outraged of these "surcharges" our STATE is making us pay. Here is what happened to me: I was driving to my house in El Paso TX, suddenly I ran in to a police Checkpoint in a regular neighbourhood at an intersction, I was asked for my papers, I provided the officer with my license and insurance paper, turned out that the insurance paper was not valid anymore, BUT I DID HAVE ACTIVE INSURANCE (FULL COVERAGE), so I was given a ticket for it, now I work a shift and half at my work usually, I work to payoff my son's school, my wife's car so she can go to school also, etc etc etc... so I missed the Court Date to present my papers, shortly after I went to pay my ticket but was not allowed to present my insurance papers anymore, so I paid 280 dollars for the ticket and thought that was the end of it. Well sure enough a few months later, THERE YOU GO GOOD CITIZEN, a fine over a fine over a fine, my family's budget, as many of us is tight, and to have to pay a fine on top of a fine is just a slap on the face. This must stop, hell even the money that was supposed to be destined for highway construction and trauma centers have not received the money it was promised, I mean, if you're going to steal money from us for a good cause at least KEEP YOUR WORD DAMN IT, this is again, the hard working people making the rich richer. THANK YOU CONGRESS FOR APPROVING THESE BS LAWS.

[Brian]

Scott B wrote:

I to am affected by the DRP surcharge. In 2004 I received a DWI, just pulled over no accident or anything. My fault, stupidity I admit. First and last time. Anyway, I paid $2K for lawyer who did pretty much nothing. The judge ordered me to pay $861 fine and 10 days labor detail in lieu of probation. Oh yeah and also a pesky little thing called a DRP surcharge at a rate of $1000 per year for three years. I paid the fine did the labor, but when i received the DRP paperwork it said that the surcharge is in place for three years and after that I would no longer be charged. To me that read if i don't pay and don't drive after three years i could get my license back. Three years passed on June 15, 2008 and i no longer reside on TX. So i contacted my local DL office in upstate NY and they told me because i have a suspended license in TX I could not get one here. So I got on the DRP website plugged in my info and it said "canceled, amount owed $0.00, minimum amount due $0.00". So I thought alright now i can get it reinstated and get a license in the state i live. Called up TXDPS asked them how to get my license and they said $225 reinstatement fee and oh yeah $3k surcharge. Apparently it never ever goes away. I was told I would never be able to get my DL in TX without paying this charge. I believe my surcharge amount was so high because of the zipcode on my DL, according to my lawyer they know how much they can squeeze out of you by the zipcode on your DL. They will never get a penny from me. I'm ready to join the fight let me know how!!!!!

Darn, this was my hopeful plan, to wait out the three years (since it says you will be charged for three years from date of conviction.)

[Brian]

Moe wrote:

I got an insurance ticket 6 years ago, and paid it. Now I get this surcharge in the mail. Heres my advice, do not pay them a dime. If u get a ticket, let's say for speeding, tell them ur not carrying ur license. When u go to court, show them the license (they don't check for suspension), and they'll waive the no license charge. Ofcourse it matters what court u go to, but it worked for me. This surcharge will be voided pretty soon if enough people let their voices be heard.

Interesting idea. If you just say you aren't carrying it I take it they don't take you to jail?

[tjr]

This surcharge is not right nor fair to anyone. we pay taxes,shouldn't have to pay a surcharge just because we made mistake. this is making alot of citizens lives really hard and impossible to comply with everything between truck payment insurance and now surcharges i have to pay over 1300$ a month just to drive??!! Thats not right and something need to be done to get rid of this completely!!! What a crooked state TEXAS is becoming

[kain800]

Hopeless. ....

[Soggybottom]

How about we all stick Together and nobody pays a penny to the greedy dps

[Julez]

I feel everyone's pain here... I've settled what I owed my city in tickets Over 5K.... I then found out I have to shell out an additional 7K in surcharges owed to the state.. It took me forever to settle with the city and the reason my tickets added up because my DL was suspended due to the fact of my difficulty to pay for the ticket.. talk about a never ending cycle - I'm all for ending these dumb surcharges - generate the revenue from somewhere else don't put individuals out of work or force individuals to take lesser positions because of this!

[Jim Johnson]

The surcharge program is the biggest scam I have seen. Its like the never ending ticketing system, a system where you get punished 4 times for each offence. Once for the actual ticket then once each year for the next 3 years.

If you read the fine print on the their website, even if you get pulled over and ticketed for drving without insurance because you dont have a copy of your current card with you at the time of issuing the ticket, you still have to pay, even if you take a copy of the current card and get the ticket dismissed, WTF??

[Jim Johnson]

This program only punishes people that do the right thing. Its like so many other programs that have been created to support entire manufactured revenue schemes, like HOAs (retain resale value?,WTF??), Toll roads on highways built with taxpayer dollars ect. Not only does the surcharge program but the toll roads (at least where I live) and HOAs have created a demand for their own little cottege industries to support them. Collection companies, management companies, law firms to represent them when you fail or refuse to pay, all for these self perpetuating organizations that provide nothing but a revenue stream for themselves, that in turn, justifies their exsistence in the first place. It just makes me sick.

[BEE]

How do i check my amnesty application online?

[adam]

i got one of these stupid surcharges from when i was in middle school for a fight i got in to keep in mind that im 26 now and i got this last year so i called them and told them that it was bullshit an that i wasnt paying it hes like alright they put a warrant out for my arrest it only 195 dollars wtf wtf

[Pollyin texas]

I have a solution!! We are Texas, after all. Wonder what 'the system' would do if we start riding horses everywhere in protest! I know this doesn't help the truckers, but bet it would sure get the politicians attention. After all, Perry and Bush walk bow-legged and wear their big buckles; surely it would be acceptable.....

[Curtis]

anna wrote:

if you obeyed the rules you would not have a surcharge to pay! Sorry about your bad luck

Shut the F**k up miss high and mighty, everyone makes mistakes even YOU! But this is ridiculous and when it happens to you, I will say the same.