County approves DPS Failure to Appear program

The Stephens County Commissioners met with a keen eye on improving the county for 2020, with a focus on the Texas Department of Public Safety, bond supervision and morale improvement.

The commissioners approved the contract for the Texas Department of Public Safety Failure to Appear program on Monday, Jan 27 at the county courthouse.

Justice of the Peace Steve Spoon provided the commissioners information about the program.

“It’s a $400 ticket, and if someone doesn’t show up, it’s an additional citation,” JP Spoon said. “It depends on the circumstances on why they didn’t do it, maybe a bad address or whatever the situation is, and the fine gets broken down automatically.”

According to DPS, if anyone is reported to the program, they will not be able to renew their Texas driver’s license. The individual must wait until the reported violation is resolved with the reporting court.

In the event the renewal of the driver’s license is denied, the applicant will then be prohibited from operating a vehicle within the state. A violation will result in a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or jail for up to six months.

Reporting court and docket information, along with other details on the offense, can be found online at www.dps.texas.gov.

The commissioners also discussed taking necessary actions on the invoice for the bond supervisor of the city of Graham.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Feb. 5 edition of the Breckenridge American.