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Missouri House approves restrictions on "red-light camera" tickets
Marshall Griffin, KWMU

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (2008-05-12) The Missouri House has overwhelmingly approved legislation regulating traffic tickets issued by so-called "red light" cameras.

Two amendments were added onto the House omnibus transportation bill regarding traffic cameras.

State Representative Will Kraus (R, Raytown) sponsored one that would divert all revenue from camera-generated tickets to public schools.

"I think that right now most of the cities are using red-light cameras to generate revenue for themselves and these red-light camera companies...I think that that's a disincentive," Kraus said.

State Representative Jeff Roorda (D, Barnhart) voted "yes," but he also thinks local governments should get a share.

"I think cities put them up for the dual purpose of generating revenue and reducing accidents at intersections, and if cities can't at least underwrite their expenses on enforcing these traffic light cameras, I'm afraid that they're just not (going to) utilize them like they were meant to," Roorda said.

The other amendment would exempt Amish, Mennonite, and similar groups who use horse-drawn carriages from receiving camera-generated traffic tickets.

Several other amendments were added to the transportation bill, which means House and Senate negotiators will have to craft a final version before the session ends on Friday.

© Copyright 2008, KWMU

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Then there is this one... I did not know you could drive with out a drivers license because of religious reasons????




Vote limits traffic cameras
Legislators restrict use of funds from fines, exempt some drivers.

From staff and wire reports
Published Tuesday, May 13, 2008

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - House members voted yesterday to restrict the use of red-light cameras.

The amendments lay out requirements for communities that wish to use the cameras at intersections, mandate that the money be used for schools and allow certain drivers to be immune from prosecution.

Several communities in the state have installed cameras at intersections to check for motorists who run red lights. But the cameras have prompted concerns about privacy and controversy about enforcing the tickets because it’s not always possible to determine the driver’s identity.

Another concern cited by critics is that private companies that own the cameras earn profits from each ticket issued.

The red-light provisions were among the nearly two dozen amendments added to a transportation bill. That means it is likely House and Senate negotiators will need to sort out the final terms. They have until Friday.

One of the changes would bar motorists from receiving a ticket from the red-light camera if they are permitted to not have a driver’s license for religious reasons. That was added to a separate amendment allowing for photo-less driver’s licenses in some cases.

Rep. Brian Yates, R-Lee’s Summit, said offenders caught by the cameras aren’t assessed points on their license - they’re just fined. "There are no points because they just want your cash," he said.

Columbia is evaluating intersections where the city intends to post cameras. Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said the city is considering treating a camera red-light ticket the same as a ticket issued by a police officer. "Many of the 22 municipalities around the state that have cameras treat the tickets as civil infractions that don’t require points on a license," he said. "We just don’t think that’s a safe way to go, and it opens us up to a lot of legal issues."

Another amendment, sponsored by Rep. Charles Portwood, R-Ballwin, would prevent companies that own red-light cameras from getting a cut of the fines issued because of the cameras. Portwood’s amendment limits payments to the value of the equipment and the price of the services to keep the system running.

St. Romaine said the company hired to install Columbia’s cameras, LaserCraft Inc., is able to provide the service to Columbia because of the portion of the fines it captures for profit.

Columbia is waiting to see the outcome of the legislation before moving forward with the installation of stoplight cameras, St. Romaine said.

"We’ve been following this legislation, waiting for it to give us some authority to install the cameras," he said. "We’re still in the process of looking at the infrastructure, but we won’t install anything until we hear further news on this legislation, and it sounds like that will happen soon."