TexasCHLforum.com

While Selma was not the only one that caused the law, it was a big contributor to the problem. Selma was also the only one so famous that it made it into a country song that was a fairly big hit too.

I don't remember anyone here discussing it, but the law youa re talking about is:

Transportation Code 542.402. DISPOSITION OF FINES.
(a) A municipality or county shall use a fine collected for a violation of a
highway law in this title to:
(1) construct and maintain roads, bridges, and culverts in the
municipality or county;
(2) enforce laws regulating the use of highways by motor vehicles;
and
(3) defray the expense of county traffic officers.
(b) In each fiscal year, a municipality having a population of less than
5,000 may retain, from fines collected for violations of this title and
from special expenses collected under Article 45.051, Code of
Criminal Procedure, in cases in which a violation of this title is alleged,
an amount equal to 30 percent of the municipality's revenue for the
preceding fiscal year from all sources, other than federal funds and
bond proceeds, as shown by the audit performed under Section
103.001, Local Government Code.

After a municipality has retained that amount, the municipality shall
send to the comptroller any portion of a fine or a special expense
collected that exceeds $1.
(c) The comptroller shall enforce Subsection (b).
(d) In a fiscal year in which a municipality retains from fines and special
expenses collected for violations of this title an amount equal to at
least 20 percent of the municipality's revenue for the preceding fiscal
year from all sources other than federal funds and bond proceeds, not
later than the 120th day after the last day of the municipality's fiscal
year, the municipality shall send to the comptroller:
(1) a copy of the municipality's financial statement for that fiscal year
filed under Chapter 103, Local Government Code; and
(2) a report that shows the total amount collected for that fiscal year
from fines and special expenses under Subsection (b).
(e) If an audit is conducted by the comptroller under Subsection (c) and it
is determined that the municipality is retaining more than 20 percent
of the amounts under Subsection (b) and has not complied with
Subsection (d), the municipality shall pay the costs incurred by the
comptroller in conducting the audit.