Committee tables bill to let DOT use automated cameras in construction zones after lengthy debate

Lawmakers debated a proposal to authorize automated speed-detection cameras in highway construction zones and to channel fines into a new fund before tabling the measure.

Secretary Serna of the Department of Transportation and Steve Hamilton, general counsel for the department, introduced Senate Bill 241, which would permit the Department of Transportation, in partnership with public-safety officials, to place automated speed-enforcement cameras in work zones and to issue civil penalties. The department said the program would be limited to construction or work zones and that signage would notify drivers that cameras are in use. The department also proposed a fund to administer the program; funds deposited there would be used to run the program, the department said.

An opponent, Kelly Stout Sanchez, a trial lawyer, told the committee the bill would deprive motorists of the right to a jury trial and shift the burden of proof to vehicle owners in an administrative hearing. She said the proposal eliminates the rules of evidence, reduces the proof standard to a preponderance of the evidence, and offers limited grounds to appeal a citation.

Committee members voiced a range of concerns: several senators said the bill creates strict vicarious liability for vehicle owners even when they were not driving, could impose civil-collection consequences and attorney fees for unpaid fines, and might disproportionately affect lower-income residents. Members also questioned whether the program would allow sufficient procedural safeguards — for example, how a motorist could challenge camera calibration or obtain discovery — and whether the department’s calibration schedule (annual calibration in the draft) was adequate when mobile cameras might be relocated frequently. The department said contractors would be paid for services on a cost basis and not by fee revenue, and that other municipalities in the state use different enforcement models that do affect driving records; the DOT said this bill uses civil penalties that would not be reported to motor-vehicle records or insurers.

After extended debate and multiple procedural points, Senator Duhigg moved to table the bill. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the motion to table carried; the chair announced the bill was tabled. Two members asked to explain their votes.