State Rep. Bill Roemer | The Ohio House of Representatives
State Rep. Bill Roemer | The Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives has passed a bill ensuring due process rights for motorists who receive civil tickets from traffic cameras. The current law permits cities to mandate individuals to undergo a city-run administrative hearing process to contest such tickets. This administrative hearing does not take place in court, before a judge.
House Bill 410 abolishes this administrative hearing process and necessitates all jurisdictions to pursue alleged violations through a municipal or county court, as is standard for most other violations of a municipal ordinance. It does not ban or regulate traffic enforcement cameras but merely guarantees due process for people who receive mailed citations from these devices.
"Motorists, like everyone else, deserve due process," said Rep. Jim Butler (R-Oakwood), who sponsored the legislation with Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati). "If a camera records a driving infraction, the driver deserves to be treated the same as if they had received any other traffic ticket."
Furthermore, the bill mandates political subdivisions to report annually to the state the total amount of fines collected from traffic camera enforcement. Upon receiving this report, the state will then deduct an equivalent amount from the Local Government Fund (LGF) that the political subdivision receives.
"We are simply determining that if jurisdictions choose to raise their revenue through issuing civil citations for red light/speed cameras, they need state money to that extent," Seitz said. "We are using our unquestionable power over the state budget to reallocate money to a state-run fund for road safety that was being expended for the benefit of those jurisdictions that rely on photo-enforcement revenues."
In an attempt to further enhance safety on roadways, HB 410 directs LGF money withheld from affected political subdivisions towards the Ohio Department of Transportation designated for improving public safety on roads and highways.
House Bill 410 now awaits consideration by the Ohio Senate.
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