The state apparatus commonly referred to as Big Brother has been tracking Ohio motorists, generating big revenue from traffic camera tickets, may soon come to an end in some areas.
Legislation that would outlaw the use of traffic cameras in counties and townships is on the way to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. The provision is part of an $11 billion transportation budget bill that passed in the Ohio Statehouse.
The rule change targets handheld cameras that record speeding and red light violations in counties and townships, impacting communities like Weathersfield, Liberty and Vienna, WFMJ 21 News reports.
The provision would not apply to cities and villages, thanks to their right to self-govern, NBC 4 News reports.
Many lawmakers feel they are an infringement of rights and result in excessive fines to motorists, while filling budgetary gaps for local municipalities. The speed and red-light cameras have been at the center of multiple Ohio Supreme Court cases.
Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, introduced the provision and said the cameras have nothing to do with public safety.
“My constituents that travel through those townships [using traffic cameras] are tired of getting tickets in the mail,” Cutrona said in the NBC 4 News report. “It’s all about revenue.”
In 2017, the Ohio Supreme Court found laws restricting cities’ use of traffic cameras violated their home rule authority. However, Cutrona plans to investigate ways to limit city traffic cameras in the future.
Current Ohio law allows townships and counties to use traffic cameras to detect speeding and red-light violations. But another law that took effect in 2015 requires a law enforcement officer to be present at the camera while it is in use, which is why they use handheld devices.
Ray Buhala, Liberty Township Police Department captain, told WFMJ 21 News that the department has been using the handheld cameras since 2016 and opposes the ban.
“By not allowing us to use this technology it's going to set us back,” Buhala said. “In a time when our country is moving forward with technology and everything we do, they’re taking it away from law enforcement which to me doesn't make sense.”
When a camera detects a violation, a ticket may be issued through the mail, NBC 4 News reported.
“A lot of times it gets you at times where it’s not really fair,” Ohio driver Carlton Walker said. “There’s got to be a better way to alert you of what you’re doing in the moment.”
The speed camera programs have been proven to be a cash cow for municipalities that deploy them.
NBC 4 News reports that the Village of Brice is a good example of the money being generated from automated traffic citations. Brice, in central Ohio, would not be affected by the budget bill since it is a village.
However, in 2019 and 2020, Brice generated about 80% of its total general fund from traffic camera tickets. From 2015 to 2020, that revenue amounted to $2.3 million for the approximately 100-person village, according to an audit conducted by Ohio Auditor Keith Faber in March 2022.
Vienna Township trustee Phil Pegg told WFMJ News that the revenue generated from speed cameras has helped the township with its fiscal problems. He said they can now sustain themselves financially without the speed cameras, but the cameras are about more than money.
Issuing traffic tickets via camera data has been hotly debated in Ohio, going back a decade or more. Traffic cameras have faced controversy and criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, prompting numerous bills over the years to restrict the use of traffic cameras.
And even Democratic lawmakers say the studies do not show that cameras make the roadways safer traffic-wise.
“They’re basically set up to get some additional revenue for the jurisdiction that has traffic cameras,” said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood.
Currently, 24 municipalities in Ohio run traffic cameras, according to the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Some jurisdictions will quietly start or stop using traffic cameras, so the number changes. And most of the jurisdictions using traffic cameras are in the northeastern part of the state, NBC 4 News reports.
The provision of the budget can be line-item vetoed by Governor Mike DeWine. The deadline for the budget is March 31.
