Says Mayors Claiming Safety Is Primary Purpose for Cameras Should Support Legislation

Senator Michael Doherty (R-23) has proposed legislation that directly challenges the claims of mayors and local officials who say they support red light camera systems for their supposed safety benefits rather than the hundreds of thousands of dollars of ticket revenue that can flow into municipal budgets from each monitored intersection.

The Senator’s legislation, which has been drafted for introduction, would direct towns to deposit all fines collected as a result of violations recorded by red light cameras into the state’s Highway Safety Fund, eliminating the municipal share of red light camera ticket revenues.

“This legislation allows towns to keep the cameras that local officials say make their intersections safer, but not the ticket revenues their cameras generate,” said Doherty. “Every mayor and local official who is on record saying cameras are about safety, not money, should support this bill. If they don’t, it will prove their previous support of cameras under the guise of safety was fraudulent. Reporters who previously interviewed local officials who made such claims should go back and ask those same officials if they support this bill.”

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