(1)
Parking Violation Enforcement. The Department
establishes regulations to address the public safety, environmental and related
issues associated with the illegal parking of vehicles on properties owned,
maintained or controlled by the Department.
(a)
Enforcement. A
violation or parking clerk may enforce the provisions of 700 CMR
7.14.
(b)
Designation of
Violation Clerks. The Department may, from time to time, designate
one or more violation or parking clerks to perform the functions specified in
700 CMR 7.14(1)(c) at the pleasure of the Department and for such finite or
indefinite period as the Department deems desirable.
(c)
Functions of the Violation
Clerks. The State Police or a parking clerk designated by the
Department will record and collect data to identify a violating vehicle and
certify that such violation occurred. After the parking violation has been
issued or affixed to the vehicle, copies of the parking violations are
forwarded to the violation clerks for the processing of violation notices. The
violation clerks may coordinate the processing of violation notices in
accordance with 700 CMR 7.14(1). The Department may hire or designate such
personnel and organize such divisions as the Department may deem necessary, or
contract for such services, in order to carry out the provisions of 700 CMR
7.14.
(d)
Content of
Violation Notice.
1.
Information Regarding the Specific Offense. A
violation notice includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
the registration number and state of issuance of the registration number of the
vehicle involved; the make and color of the vehicle; the date, time and place
of the violation; the specific violation charged by reference to the
appropriate entry in
700 CMR
7.13(3): Table
12; the applicable fines or penalties that the Department has
established; an identifier for the Department's designated representative who
is certifying that the violation occurred; and instructions for the return of
the tag; and such other information as the Department may deem
appropriate.
2.
Notice
of Requirement to Respond. A parking violation notice states that
the registered owner must pay the fine stated in the violation notice or appeal
the violation within 60 calendar days after the date of the issuance of the
violation notice and describes the means and content of the response for
payment or appeal. Payments or appeals shall be received by the Department by
the due date listed on the parking violation notice.
(e)
Issuance of Violation
Notice.
1.
Delivery
of Violation Notice. A parking violation notice shall be affixed
securely to the motor vehicle. If it not possible to affix a parking violation
notice to the motor vehicle, such notice shall be sent to the address of the
registered owner of the motor vehicle, if the vehicle is registered in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If the motor vehicle is not registered in the
Commonwealth, the parking violation notice shall be sent to the records of the
official of the relevant state in charge of the registration of such motor
vehicle.
2.
Prima Facie Evidence of
Notice. Notice affixed to a motor vehicle as provided in 700 CMR
7.14, shall be deemed a sufficient notice, and a certificate of the parking
violation clerk affixing such notice that it has been affixed thereto, in
accordance with 700 CMR 7.14, shall be deemed prima facie
evidence thereof and the facts therein and shall be admissible in any judicial
or administrative proceeding as to the facts contained therein.
(f)
Payment or Appeal
of Violation Notice. Within 60 calendar days after the date of the
issuance of the parking violation notice, the registered owner to whom the
violation notice is issued must make one of the following responses: pay the
fine as provided by 700 CMR 7.14(f)1.; send a written dispute by mail as
provided by 700 CMR 7.14(f)2.; or request a hearing as provided by 700 CMR
7.14(f)3.
1.
Payment of
Fine. The registered owner shall pay the fine as specified in the
violation notice. Payment of the fine shall be received by the Department by
the due date listed on the parking violation notice.
2.
Appeal by Mail.
The registered owner may, without waiving the right to a hearing before a
violation clerk as provided by 700 CMR 7.14(f)3., and also without waiving
judicial review as provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 14, appeal a parking
violation and receive a review and disposition of the violation from a parking
violation clerk by mail. The appeal by mail must contain a signed statement
from the registered owner explaining the basis for the appeal. The signed
statement may be accompanied by signed statements from witnesses, police
officers, government officials, or other relevant parties or photographs,
diagrams, maps or other relevant documents that the registered owner determines
to submit. Statements or materials sent to a parking violation clerk for review
must have attached to them the name and address of the registered owner as well
as the number of the violation notice and the date of the violation. All
information submitted by the registered owner becomes part of the violation
record. Written appeals submitted by mail shall be received by the Department
by the due date listed on the violation notice. The violation clerk shall,
within 60 days of receipt of such material, review the material and dismiss or
uphold the violation and notify the registered owner of the disposition of the
hearing in writing by mail. If the appeal by mail is denied, the parking
violation clerk shall explain the reasons for the determination. The review and
disposition handled by mail is informal, the rules of evidence do not apply,
and the decision of the violation clerk is final subject to the hearing
provisions provided by 700 CMR 7.14(1)(f), and to judicial review as provided
by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 14.
3.
Request for Hearing. Consistent with the provisions of
M.G.L. c. 30A, a person issued a violation notice may make a written request
for an appeal hearing before a violation clerk designated by the Department.
Requests for a hearing shall be received by the Department by the due date
listed on the violation notice. The violation clerk then notifies the
registered owner in writing by first class mail of the date, time, and place of
the hearing. The hearing is informal, the rules of evidence do not apply, and
the decision of the violation clerk is final, subject to judicial review as
provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 14. Parties are notified in person or by mail
of the decision following the hearing. Each written appeal decision contains a
statement of reasons for the decision including a determination of each issue
of fact necessary to the decision. Failure to appear at the date, time, and
place specified on the hearing notice automatically results in the denial of
the appeal.
(g)
Failure to Comply. Failure to comply with the
requirements of 700 CMR 7.14(1)(f) shall result in the following sanctions
against the registered owner.
1.
Additional Fines or Penalties. The Department may
assess additional fines or penalties for late payment, failure to pay, or for
otherwise failing to respond to a violation notice as provided by 700 CMR
7.14(1)(f).
Failure to Respond Within 60 Days after the Date of Issuance of
a Violation Notice. A registered owner who fails to pay the fine specified in a
violation notice or who fails to appeal a violation notice as provided by 700
CMR 7.14(1)(f) within 60 calendar days after the date of the issuance of the
violation notice shall pay an additional penalty as indicated on the violation
notice and/or
700 CMR
7.13(3): Table
12. The violation clerk notifies the registered owner by first class
mail of this notice of liability and, in addition, notifies the Registrar of
Motor Vehicles who shall place the matter on record and, upon receipt of a
notice of liability, the Registrar shall not renew the registered owner's
license to operate the vehicle or the registration of the vehicle until after
notice from the violation clerk that all such matters have been disposed of in
accordance with applicable law or regulation. If the registered owner is a
resident of another state or jurisdiction, the Registrar shall revoke the
registered owner's right to operate in the Commonwealth until the matter has
been disposed of in accordance with applicable law or regulation.
2.
Civil or Criminal
Action. The Department may pursue such civil or criminal action as
it deems appropriate to collect the fine initially assessed in the violation
notice as well as such additional fines or penalties as the Department may
assess in accordance with 700 CMR 7.14.
(2)
Program
Enforcement. Any violation notice based in whole or in part upon
the written certification by the Department's designated representative for the
purposes of recording such a violation, upon inspection of any photograph or
other recorded image, and/or a violation clerk shall be prima
facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall be admissible
in any administrative or judicial proceeding to adjudicate the liability for
such violation. Nothing in
700 CMR 7.00 shall require a
violation to be recorded by photographic or other recorded means, but a
violation may be based in whole upon the written certification of the
Department's designated representative that such violation has
occurred.
(3)
Prima Facie
Responsibility for Stolen
Vehicle. The registered owner of any vehicle violating the
provisions of 700 CMR 7.14 is prima facie responsible for the
payment of the fines or penalties that the Department assesses in accordance
with
700 CMR 7.13(3)(a)
with respect to a violation of 700 CMR 7.14,
unless the registered owner has reported in a timely manner to a police agency
that the violating vehicle has been stolen, and the violating vehicle remained
stolen at the time of the violation of 700 CMR 7.14.
