Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-819.3:1
A. For purposes of this section:
"Automatic vehicle identification device" means an electronic device that communicates by wireless transmission with an automatic vehicle identification system.
"Automatic vehicle identification system" means an electronic vehicle identification system installed to work in conjunction with a toll collection device that automatically produces an electronic record of each vehicle equipped with an automatic vehicle identification device that uses a toll facility.
"Debt collection" means the collection of unpaid tolls and applicable administrative fees by (i) retention of a third-party debt collector or (ii) collection practices undertaken by employees of a toll facility operator that are materially similar to a third-party debt collector.
"Operator" means a person who was driving a vehicle that was the subject of a toll violation but who is not the owner of the vehicle.
"Operator of a toll facility other than the Department of Transportation" means any agency, political subdivision, authority, or other entity that operates a toll facility.
"Owner" means the registered owner of a vehicle on record with the Department of Motor Vehicles or with the equivalent agency in another state. "Owner" does not mean a vehicle rental or vehicle leasing company that meets the requirements for such companies set forth in this section.
"Video-monitoring system" means a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a toll collection device that automatically produces one or more photographs, one or more microphotographs, a videotape, or other recorded images of each vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation of this section.
C. Information collected by a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicle identification system installed and operated pursuant to subsection B shall be limited exclusively to that information that is necessary for the collection of unpaid tolls and establishing when violations occur, including use in any proceeding to determine whether a violation occurred. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all images or other data collected by a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicle identification system shall be protected in a database with security comparable to that of the Department of Motor Vehicles' system and used exclusively for the collection of unpaid tolls and for efforts to pursue violators of this section and shall not (i) be open to the public; (ii) be sold and/or used for sales, solicitation, or marketing purposes other than those of the toll facility operator to facilitate toll payment; (iii) be disclosed to any other entity except as may be necessary for the collection of unpaid tolls or to a vehicle owner or operator as part of a challenge to the imposition of a toll; and/or (iv) be used in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a violation of this section or upon order from a court of competent jurisdiction. Except as provided above, information collected under this section shall be purged and not retained later than 30 days after the collection and reconciliation of any unpaid tolls, administrative fees, and/or civil penalties. Any entity operating a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicle identification system shall annually certify compliance with this section and make all records pertaining to such system available for inspection and audit by the Commissioner of Highways or the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles or their designee. Any violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor. In addition to any fines or other penalties provided for by law, any money or other thing of value obtained as a result of a violation of this section shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth.
If a vehicle uses a toll facility without paying the toll, the owner or operator shall be in violation of this section if he refuses to pay the toll within 30 days of notification. The toll facility operator may impose and collect an administrative fee in addition to the unpaid toll so as to recover the expenses of collecting the unpaid toll, which administrative fee shall be reasonably related to the actual cost of collecting the unpaid toll and not exceed $100 per violation. Such fee shall not be levied upon the owner or operator of the vehicle unless the toll has not been paid by the owner or operator within 30 days after receipt of the invoice for the unpaid toll, which nonpayment for 30 days shall constitute the violation of this section. Once such a violation has occurred, the owner or operator of the vehicle shall pay the unpaid tolls and any administrative fee detailed in the invoice for the unpaid toll issued by a toll facility operator. If paid within 60 days of the toll violation, the administrative fee shall not exceed $25.
The toll facility operator may levy charges for the direct cost of use of and processing for a video-monitoring system and to cover the cost of the invoice, which are in addition to the toll and may not exceed double the amount of the base toll, provided that potential toll facility users are provided notice before entering the facility by conspicuous signs that clearly indicate that the toll for use of the facility could be tripled for any vehicle that does not have an active, functioning automatic vehicle identification device registered for and in use in the vehicle using the toll facility, and such signs are posted at a location where the operator can still choose to avoid the use of the toll facility if he chooses not to pay the toll.
A person receiving an invoice for an unpaid toll under this section may (a) pay the toll and administrative fees directly to the toll facility operator or (b) file with the toll facility operator a notice, on a form provided by the toll facility operator as required under subsection B of § 46.2-819.6, to contest liability for a toll violation. The notice to contest liability for a toll violation may be filed by any person receiving an invoice for an unpaid toll by mailing or delivering the notice to the toll facility operator within 60 days of receiving such invoice for an unpaid toll. Upon receipt of such notice, the toll facility operator may issue a summons pursuant to subsection I and may not seek withholding of registration or renewal thereof under subsection L until a court of competent jurisdiction has found the alleged violator liable for tolls under this section.
J. Upon a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction that the vehicle described in the summons issued pursuant to subsection I was in violation of this section, the court shall impose a civil penalty upon the owner or operator of such vehicle in accordance with the amounts specified in subsection D, together with applicable court costs, the operator's administrative fee, and the toll due. Penalties assessed as the result of action initiated by the Department of Transportation shall be remanded by the clerk of the court that adjudicated the action to the Department of Transportation's Toll Facilities Revolving Account. Penalties assessed as the result of action initiated by an operator of a toll facility other than the Department of Transportation shall be remanded by the clerk of the court that adjudicated the action to the treasurer or director of finance of the county or city in which the violation occurred for payment to the toll facility operator.
The owner of such vehicle shall be given reasonable notice by way of a summons as provided in subsection I that his vehicle had been used in violation of this section, and such owner shall be given notice of the time and place of the hearing as well as the civil penalty and costs for such offense.
It shall be prima facie evidence that the vehicle described in the summons issued pursuant to subsection I was operated in violation of this section. Records obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection P and certified in accordance with § 46.2-215 or from the equivalent agency in another state and certified as true and correct copies by the head of such agency or his designee identifying the owner of such vehicle shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the owner of the vehicle is the person named in the summons.
Upon the filing of an affidavit by the owner of the vehicle with the toll facility operator within 14 days of receipt of an invoice for unpaid toll or a summons stating that such owner was not the operator of the vehicle on the date of the violation and providing the legal name and address of the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, an invoice for unpaid toll or summons, whichever the case may be, will also be issued to the alleged operator of the vehicle at the time of the offense.
In any action against a vehicle operator, an affidavit made by the owner providing the name and address of the vehicle operator at the time of the violation shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person named in the affidavit was operating the vehicle at all the relevant times relating to the matter named in the affidavit.
If the owner of the vehicle produces for the toll facility operator or the court a certified copy of a police report showing that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time of the alleged offense and remained stolen at the time of the alleged offense, then the toll facility operator shall not pursue the owner for the unpaid toll contained in the invoice for unpaid toll or the court shall dismiss the summons issued to the owner of the vehicle.
L. If an owner of a vehicle has received at least one invoice for two or more unpaid tolls in accordance with § 46.2-819.6 by certified mail or other equivalent form of trackable correspondence and has (i) failed to pay the unpaid tolls and administrative fees and (ii) failed to file a notice to contest liability for a toll violation, then the toll facility operator may notify the Commissioner, who shall, if no form contesting liability has been timely filed with the toll facility operator pursuant to this section, refuse to issue or renew the vehicle registration certificate of any applicant therefor or the license plate issued for any vehicle driven in the commission of the offense until the toll facility operator has notified the Commissioner that such fees and unpaid tolls have been paid.
If the vehicle owner was not the operator at the time of the offense and the person identified in an affidavit pursuant to subsection J as the operator has received at least one invoice for two or more unpaid tolls in accordance with § 46.2-819.6 by certified mail or other equivalent form of trackable correspondence and such person has (a) failed to pay the unpaid tolls and administrative fees and (b) failed to file a notice to contest liability for a toll violation, then the toll facility operator may notify the Commissioner, who shall, if no form contesting liability has been timely filed with the toll facility operator pursuant to this section, refuse to issue or renew any vehicle registration certificate of any applicant therefor or the license plate issued for any vehicle owned or co-owned by such person until the toll facility operator has notified the Commissioner that such fees and unpaid tolls have been paid.
The Commissioner may only refuse to issue or renew any vehicle registration pursuant to this subsection upon the request of a toll facility operator if such toll facility operator has entered into an agreement with the Commissioner whereby the Commissioner will refuse to issue or renew any vehicle registration of any applicant therefor who owes unpaid tolls and administrative fees to the toll facility operator. The toll facility operator seeking to collect unpaid tolls and administrative fees through the withholding of registration or renewal thereof by the Commissioner as provided for in this subsection shall notify the Commissioner in the manner provided for in his agreement with the Commissioner and supply to the Commissioner information necessary to identify the violator whose registration or renewal is to be denied. The Commissioner shall charge a $40 fee to defray the cost of processing and withholding the registration or registration renewal, and the toll facility operator may add this fee to the amount of the unpaid tolls and administrative fees. Any agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall provide for the Department to send the violator notice of the intent to deny renewal of registration at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of a current vehicle registration and such notice shall include a form, as required under subsection B of § 46.2-819.6, to contest liability of the underlying toll violation. The notice provided by the Commissioner shall include instructions for filing the form to contest liability with the toll facility operator within 21 days after the date of mailing of the Commissioner's notice. Upon timely receipt of the form, the toll facility operator shall notify the Commissioner, who shall refrain from withholding the registration or renewal thereof, after which the toll facility operator may proceed to issue a summons for unpaid toll. For the purposes of this subsection, notice by first-class mail to the registrant's address as maintained in the records of the Department shall be deemed sufficient.
2010, c. 839; 2011, c. 736; 2016, c. 753; 2020, cc. 964, 965; 2024, cc. 67, 68, 470.