Brian Camarillo needed to feed his parking meter just one more time while he waited his turn for legal advice on how to get his Texas driver鈥檚 license renewed.
As he walked back down the street in downtown El Paso after shoveling coins into the meter, he realized the irony of the situation.
鈥淚 literally have no choice,鈥� he said about driving with a suspended driver鈥檚 license.
Camarillo was one of about two dozen El Paso residents who went to a free legal clinic put on earlier this month by a nonprofit group that aims to address disparities on issues that include criminal justice, housing, education and immigration, among others.
The group was in El Paso because of Texas鈥� , which they argue disproportionately affects minorities and poor Texans, and makes it increasingly difficult for them to settle debts with the state and regain their ability to legally drive.
That recent Saturday trip downtown wasn't the only time Camarillo took a chance. He said he takes a gamble every time he drives his wife to her weekly medical appointments.
鈥淢y wife can't drive because she's diabetic and she's partially blind in one eye and she just got her foot amputated,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow she's having kidney issues. So, I have to be taking her to appointments and what not.鈥�
Texas鈥� program places a hold on driver鈥檚 license renewals if holders are unable to pay the fines and other fees associated with traffic tickets or other minor infractions. Proponents for ending the program equate it to high-interest fees that accumulate overtime and become, for some, unmanageable debt.
The lowest-level speeding ticket in El Paso, with a fine of $159, can increase by more than $100 once fines and warrant fees are assessed if a driver can鈥檛 or won鈥檛 pay fines on time or appear in court, according to data compiled by Texas Appleseed. The heftiest speeding fine, at about $558, can top $780 with fees added on.
Jennifer Carreon, the director of Texas Appleseed鈥檚 criminal justice program, said total debt can increase more overtime once a person gets caught in the dragnet of late fees and other fines, including possible jail time.
鈥淲e have seen tickets that turn from $200 into $1,500 in a matter of months because people don't appear or they can't pay it,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it'll vary by the police schedule assigned by that local jurisdiction.鈥�
The program has been described as somewhat of a Catch-22: Some Texans have suspended driver鈥檚 licenses and need to work to pay off related fines. They need to drive to work, yet they risk being pulled over and assessed more fines 鈥� or possibly jailed 鈥� for being delinquent on their outstanding balances.
So, why don鈥檛 these Texans just pay their fines? It鈥檚 not that simple for everyone, Carreon said.
鈥淔or someone who makes less than $35,000 鈥� the cost of living is absolutely outrageous now 鈥� and so $34,000, that's not too far away from the poverty line,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so, to ask them immediately 鈥楪ive me $500 out of your pocket,鈥� that's groceries for my family for a week. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to feed my kids? The court doesn鈥檛 care about that.鈥�
Who is behind the program?
The program is also dubbed the OmniBase Program, named after the vendor state and local officials partner with to collect fees. OmniBase collects 60% of the $10 payments Texans pay as part of their efforts to lift the holds.
In El Paso, nearly 70,000 people whose licenses have been suspended under the program have holds on their driver鈥檚 licenses, one of the largest groups in the state. Texas Appleseed hopes to end the program in the border city after Austin, Dallas and Harris County all opted out of the Failure to Appear Program.
鈥淚t's one of those things that with just a little education, people understand that when it comes to a cost benefit analysis, this is a loss. And it's not only hurting the justice system and the courts in a way it's making people not want to come to them, it鈥檚 a loss to the community as a whole.鈥�
Phone calls made to the OmniBase company seeking comment were redirected to an automated system and it was unclear who could provide a statement on the company鈥檚 behalf.
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout said he supports efforts to end the program, partly because locking a delinquent driver in jail for one or two nights comes at a higher cost than what the county would have collected in court costs. Though the vast majority of drivers鈥� fines are assessed by municipal courts, the county justices of the peace courts also partner with OmniBase, which currently has more than 1,500 holds on county residents.
鈥淲e're trying to keep people out of jail who don't need to be in jail in the first place,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he cost of jailing somebody is $110 a night in El Paso County jail. That's the average. I mean, do we really want to jail somebody that owes $25 and cost taxpayers $110 a night?鈥�
Carreon said her group will again push for lawmakers to abolish the system statewide. Legislation filed in 2023 that would have ended the program and went before the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee, but it failed to get a vote in the upper chamber before the end of the session.
Until it鈥檚 repealed however, they plan to keep informing Texas about their options under the program. That鈥檚 positive news for people like Regina Ybarra. Ybarra currently works as a substance abuse counselor after suffering from addiction for years. She spent two years in prison and the fees she owed kept accruing when she was behind bars.
鈥淚've gotten a good job. I started working at an opioid crisis center and I'm the project coordinator now. But in all this time and this journey that I've taken to get to where I'm at, I still haven鈥檛 been able to get a license because of all the fees. And there are just so many things that go into doing it.鈥�
But she鈥檚 optimistic and said she wants to let others know that there is help for those who need it.
鈥淓ven if people that haven't been incarcerated, let's say they are getting into recovery and the past has kind of haunted them and they have all these built-up fees, I want to get information for them to see what they can do to make it easier,鈥� she said.