Dallas To Block Vehicle Registration For Unpaid Tickets

By BJ Austin, KERA News

Dallas, TX –

The city of Dallas intends to become the second Dallas County city to join a program that denies vehicle registration renewals to anyone with an unpaid traffic ticket. KERA's BJ Austin says the database program blocks registration stickers until the fines are paid in full.

Dallas County started the scofflaw vehicle registration denial program last February - no registration sticker for those with unpaid tickets issued by Dallas County Sheriff's Deputies and Constables. Next month, Garland comes on board. Dallas wants to start red flagging those with unpaid traffic tickets issued by Dallas Police in February or March. Records show there are at least 50 thousand cases of unpaid Dallas tickets that are 3 months to a year overdue. Councilman Jerry Allen says go for it.

Allen: That goes back to the comments that we get beat up on is the zillions of dollars that we let get away from us. And this is, you know, dipping your feet in the pool.

Dallas will pay the county to participate and has allocated enough money to block about 34 thousand registrations the first year. Officials say that collected revenue will go back into the program and gradually increase the number of registration blocks.

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