10/12/09-An effort to allow cameras to be posted throughout Florida to nab red-light runners will once again come before state lawmakers. For the seventh straight year, legislation has been offered in the Sunshine State to set statewide standards for red-light cameras.
The cameras snap pictures of red-light runners’ vehicle tags. Tickets are mailed to the vehicles’ owners, regardless who was driving at the time. Florida law neither permits nor forbids the use of red-light cameras to fine violators, but governments have been reluctant to post them because of privacy and other concerns.
The previous attempt to require local governments to adopt their own ordinances to put the program in place failed to advance to the governor’s desk despite receiving overwhelming approval in both chambers. During the 2009 regular session, the bill stalled due to House and Senate lawmakers’ inability to reconcile differences in their versions.
The most notable difference of opinion was about how to divvy up ticket revenues.
Hopeful that lawmakers will be able to reach agreement on the issue once they return to the capitol for the 2010 regular session, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, has prefiled a bill – S294 – that would split the $150 ticket between the cities and counties where the roads are located and the state.