Senate agrees to floor substitutes tightening rules for speed and red‑light camera programs, bars vendor fees and adds reporting requirements

Senators on Feb. 2 agreed to floor substitutes for two bills that restructure how local photo‑enforcement programs operate and how localities must report on them. Senator from Lynchburg, the sponsor, told the body he had removed a full repeal and instead added two principal changes: vendors may not impose additional administrative fees on people exercising their right to challenge a citation, and localities must report detailed information about tickets and revenue.

"The vendor shall not be allowed to impose any additional fee, including any administrative fee to collect the civil penalty," Senator from Lynchburg said while explaining the substitute. He added that reporting requirements were expanded to require localities to disclose the number of tickets issued, the total amount the locality receives, the amount paid to private vendors and "the cost of collection activities related to collecting these" citations.

Sponsors framed the substitute as a consumer‑protection and transparency measure. The senator from Lynchburg said the substitute removes the vendor's ability to levy extra court fees and creates a new obligation for localities to account for how revenue from photo‑enforcement is used. When the senator from Charlottesville asked whether localities would be required to provide a detailed breakdown or could simply say the funds were deposited in the general fund, the sponsor answered localities must report how the funds are used ("If it's just going to their general fund, they'll say it's deposited in our general fund; if it goes to a literary fund, it will say it's going to the literary fund").

The Senate agreed to the floor substitutes by voice vote. After the substitutes were adopted, the sponsor asked that the bills "go by for the day" so senators could review any fiscal impacts; the request was granted and final passage was deferred pending that review. The chair directed that the substitute language be engrossed and advanced when further consideration occurs.

What changed: the substitute (1) removed language that would have fully repealed the photo‑enforcement statutes, (2) prohibited private vendors from charging additional administrative fees beyond applicable court costs, and (3) added regular reporting obligations for localities to disclose ticket counts, prosecution results, money retained by the locality, and amounts paid to vendors.

Next steps: Senate leaders agreed to hold the substituted bills for fiscal review before taking final, recorded votes on their ultimate passage. No final passage occurred on Feb. 2.