5/17/04-A bill that would have outlawed unauthorized use of controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green has died.
SB1146, sponsored by Sen. Pat Dougherty, D-St. Louis, remained in the Senate Transportation Committee at the close of the session May 14.
The traffic device provision, however, was included in a larger transportation bill – SB1233 – that was approved on the Legislature’s final day and forwarded to Gov. Bob Holden.

3/4/04-The Senate Transportation Committee is reviewing a bill that would outlaw unauthorized use of controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green.
A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach.
SB1146, sponsored by Sen. Pat Dougherty, D-St. Louis, would make the use of mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRT, by anyone except emergency personnel a Class B misdemeanor with a potential fine up to $500 and six months in jail.
The devices, which sit on a vehicle’s dash, are not regulated by current federal standards because they rely on a beam of light instead of a radio wave to trigger the light-changing mechanisms that have been attached to some intersections.
For Senate bill status, call (573) 751-3824.

1/29/04-SB1146 would outlaw unauthorized use of controllers that can change some traffic signals from red to green.
A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Dougherty, D-St. Louis, would make the use of Mobile Infrared Transmitters, or MIRT, by anyone except emergency personnel a Class B misdemeanor with a potential fine up to $500 and six months in jail.
The devices, which sit on a vehicle’s dash, are not regulated by current federal standards because they rely on a beam of light instead of a radio wave to trigger the light-changing mechanisms that have been attached to some intersections.
For Senate bill status, call (573) 751-3824.
Two similar House bills – HB1052 and HB1060 – have also been introduced.