Senate transportation committee hears DHSMV overview of red light, school zone and bus-camera programs

Larry Gowen, Chief Performance Officer for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, told the Senate Committee on Transportation that Florida operates three automated traffic-enforcement programs: red light cameras, school zone speed cameras and school bus stop-arm cameras.

Gowen said the red light camera program (authorized through the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program enacted in 2010) has been reported on by the department since fiscal 2011-12, while the school zone and school bus programs were authorized by the 2023 Legislature and are newer. He said the department is required to collect data and report to the Legislature on the programs annually, with reports due by Dec. 31 each year.

Gowen described the typical enforcement workflow: a camera records an event; a human reviewer verifies whether a violation occurred; if verified, the registered owner receives a notice of violation; if unpaid or contested, the matter may escalate to a uniform traffic citation. He emphasized the legal distinction: "A notice of violation is a civil, non criminal notice typically issued by a local government or its vendor. It does not add points to a driving record and can be resolved by paying the fine or requesting a hearing," whereas a uniform traffic citation is a formal citation issued by law enforcement that can carry points, mandatory court appearances or license consequences.

He gave program and fiscal details reported to the committee. For red light cameras he said preliminary data for fiscal 2024-25 shows 42 jurisdictions operating 496 cameras across 302 intersections and reporting 923,133 notices of violation. For the newer programs he said last-year reporting showed three active school bus programs and seven school zone programs; during that period jurisdictions reported 61,150 school bus notices of violation and 26,300 school zone notices. Preliminary 2024-25 numbers reported to the committee showed five active school bus programs and 40 active school zone programs.

Gowen outlined fee amounts and how proceeds are allocated: a red light-camera violation fee is $158 with $70 remitted to general revenue, $10 to the Department of Health Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund, $3 to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund and $75 retained by the local jurisdiction; school bus stop-arm violations are $200 and, he said, 100% of that fee is retained by the local jurisdiction for program operations and safety initiatives; school zone camera violations are $100, and Gowen reported that about $77 is retained locally, $20 is remitted to general revenue and $3 goes to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.

During questions senators pressed on placement, review and transparency. Senator Martin asked whether state statute requires flashing amber lights to mark a school zone when a camera is in use; Gowen said he was not aware of such a requirement and that the department would need to check the statute. Senator Davis asked whether the department maintains community-level maps of camera placement; Gowen said jurisdictions are asked to provide latitude and longitude for cameras in their reports but the department does not maintain a community-level placement inventory. Several senators pressed on who conducts the human review; Gowen said review depends on local agreements and "sometimes they enter into agreements with the local sheriff's office to review those. Sometimes they'll have an employee" perform the review.

On compensation and vendor roles, Gowen told the committee he could not speak to the specific compensation models local governments or vendors use when reviewing footage; the arrangements vary by local agreement. He also noted that, if a violation escalates to a uniform traffic citation and is not resolved, consequences can include license suspension or registration stop depending on the citation and local enforcement.

Gowen closed by pointing senators to published reports (a QR code on his slide) and reiterated the department's statutory reporting duties.

The presentation was followed by the committee's next agenda items.