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Committee advances bill to ban school-zone speed cameras after heated debate over safety and revenue
Summary
Representative Washburn asked the committee to ban automated school-zone speed cameras, saying the systems have generated large revenues and, in many places, failed to target times and locations when children are present.
Representative Washburn presented House Bill 225 to the committee seeking to ban automated school-zone speed cameras, telling members the cameras "have not done what it was apparently designed to do" and saying the programs have become revenue-generating instruments in many jurisdictions. Washburn cited a local news Freedom of Information Act review and constituent complaints, saying Macon–Bibb County collected $6.5 million and paid nearly $1 million to the operator; he also referenced larger statewide figures reported in media coverage.
Supporters of the cameras, including the city of Decatur and law-enforcement groups, argued the cameras change driver behavior and reduce speeding in school…
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