The companies that operate traffic enforcement cameras scored total victory in the Texas legislature late Saturday as key lawmakers not only ditched a plan to sunset the use of red light cameras and lengthen yellow warning times at intersections, but they also approved a number of brand new opportunities for automated ticketing firms. The ten members of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reauthorization conference committee filed the final legislative text for House Bill 300 (click here for excerpts). It cannot now be changed unless either the House or Senate votes to reject the 532-page bill in its entirety. As a result, the proposals will likely become law with the expected signature of Governor Rick Perry (R).

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The Texas state Senate voted Monday to give federal, state and local authorities the ability to track and identify every passing vehicle on state highways. The provision calling for “automatic license plate identification cameras” was slipped into the Senate version of the must-pass Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reauthorization bill. The provision was not part of the bill introduced in the state House of Representatives, whose less sympathetic members will have to accept or reject the entire 1274-page compromise hammered out by a conference committee. The House voted yesterday to instruct its conferees to insist that the House-passed ban on red light cameras remain in the final text.

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Vehicle owners could lose their car when passing through Pekin, Illinois, if a passenger happens to be carrying something on the city’s list of contraband. On Tuesday, the Pekin City Council agreed to tinker with its controversial automobile towing ordinance that has boosted the police department’s annual revenue by 29 percent. It has also generated opposition from local residents like Ed Emmons who is circulating a petition calling for reform. “The city saw a new way to make money and ran with the idea,” Emmons wrote in March. “The council should do what the majority of their constituents wish abolish the new vehicle impound ordinance.”

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Alaska’s newest US Senator was one of the earliest champions of photo enforcement. Mark Begich, a Democrat, took over the senate seat held by Ted Stevens (R) in January after narrowly defeating the scandal-plagued incumbent. Twelve years ago, Begich’s photo enforcement plan lasted only for a year before being crushed by a public referendum and series of devastating court losses.

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[NB: ANPR = Automatic Number Plate Recognition]

At least two Texas cities are openly defying the will of the state House of Representatives which earlier this month voted 107-36 to ban red light cameras. Texas lawmakers, unlike their counterparts in other states, decided to allow cities with existing red light camera contracts to keep issuing citations until those contracts expired on their own. The proposed law would then prohibit any new contracts after June 1. This week, the cities of Arlington and Southlake took a slap at that generous exception. Arlington’s city council on Tuesday unanimously decided to change the city’s five-year contract with American Traffic Solutions into a twenty-year contract.

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The National Motorists Association (NMA) yesterday rated all fifty states based on their friendliness toward the motoring public. By analyzing laws and speed trap patterns, the group measured each state’s dependence on the motoring public as a source of state and local revenue. “It is not exactly a well kept secret that many traffic laws, enforcement practices and traffic courts are more about generating revenue and political posturing than they are about traffic safety,” NMA President Jim Baxter said in a statement. “During holidays, like the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, we’re bombarded with messages about intensified enforcement, ‘click it or ticket,’ and horrendous fines when in fact most vacation-related traffic accidents are caused my inattention, distraction and fatigue. However, these are accident causes that don’t generate much in the way of government revenue, so instead our highways are overrun with unmarked police cars and ticket cameras.” The following were the top-ten worst states from the motorist’s perspective:

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Residents fed up with the promotion of red light cameras and speed cameras in Longview, Washington are looking to cut off the ability of city council members to impose the technology. Local activists Mike Wallin and Dave Grumbois last week announced a drive to collect the 2786 signatures needed to give voters a chance at the ballot box to block the expected installation of automated ticketing machines in the community of 35,000. “We have heard enough from The Daily News, city staff and the city council, so we are inviting the community to listen to our perspective of the use of traffic cameras,” Wallin said in a statement. “We can’t sit idly by and let the city’s desire for more revenue trump common sense and conventional wisdom. We the people must act now.”

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Speed cameras have emerged as a top political issue in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) is standing by its controversial decision last week against issuing refunds for motorists who were issued speed camera tickets in so-called highway work zones when no workers were present. In January, a court declared that such tickets violated the law (view opinion), but the NDP maintains that payment of a ticket is an admission of guilt. The opposition parties are making the most of the situation. 

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New York state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that police can’t use GPS technology to track criminal suspects without a warrant in a decision at least one Long Island law enforcement official said would add an unnecessary step in an investigation. A spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said she disagreed with the decision of the state Court of Appeals, which ruled 4-3 that satellite tracking devices violate the rights of suspects unless authorized by a judge. But the ruling, in a case stemming from an upstate robbery investigation, won’t compromise current investigations in Nassau involving GPS devices, spokesman Eric Phillips said.

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The Daily Mail reports that the Gloucestershire police force has rolled out a new campaign urging citizens to turn in people they suspect of “living a lavish lifestyle from the proceeds of crime.” Chief Constable Timothy Brain explains, “in the current time of financial uncertainty, those who live a lavish lifestyle with no discernable, legitimate income become even more apparent. By flaunting their ill-gotten gains criminals signal contempt for everyone who works hard, and act as very poor role models for the younger members of society.” Based on this accompanying poster, it seems that Gloucesteshire MINI drivers should be prepared to prove that they can afford their gangsta whips at a moment’s notice.

Last Wednesday, Lee Engineering presented a detailed report to the Red Light Camera Citizen Advisory Committee which had formed in compliance with a 2007 law designed to force officials to think twice before rushing to activate cameras during a budget crunch. The study suggested that engineering improvements might even make cameras unnecessary at those two locations. “Based on crash and violation data,” the study stated, “the report identifies only two approaches that would warrant consideration of photo enforcement in the event that implementation of physical and signal timing changes are unsuccessful at reducing red light running.”

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Here’s a story that proves that incompetence and general apathy isn’t limited to the DMV where Patty & Selma Bouvier earn their living. Starting now, Quebec motorists can offer up $51.97 above the current cost of a driver’s license to obtain what the provincial government is calling “Smart” driver’s licenses. These licenses will come equipped with an RFID chip that can be scanned remotely by US border guards to identify approaching drivers. Introduced by Quebec’s version of a DMV, the SAAQ, these chipped IDs are meant to allow Quebecers to comply with new Department of Homeland Security regulations that require government-issued identification when entering the US by land. Here’s the problem: The (highly personal) information emitted by the RFID can also be read by anyone else who, with $250 and a working knowledge of eBay, can obtain the necessary equipment. To make matters worse, no encryption or security measures were implemented on these “Smart” licenses. Needless to say, it’s an identity thief’s wet dream.

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The Alabama state legislature this week sent a bill authorizing Montgomery’s use of red light cameras to Governor Bob Riley (R) for his signature. The city has been using automated ticketing machines since May 2008, but the local measure authored by state Senator Larry Dixon (R-Montgomery) and state Representative David Grimes (R-Montgomery) is designed to retroactively protect the city from any lawsuit challenging the legality of the first $1 million worth of tickets already issued without authorization. “The city, by Ordinance No. 10-2007, hereby validated ab initio, adopted the procedures authorized by this act,” Senate Bill 59 declares.

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The Texas House of Representatives voted on Friday to bring an end to the use of red light cameras in the state. During consideration of a bill to reauthorize the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), members debated over 180 amendments to the underlying legislation. Amendment Number 102 added a sunset clause to state approval for the use of automated ticketing machines. This provision passed by a vote of 107-36 and the underlying TxDOT reauthorization measure was adopted on a voice vote.

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