Introduced by Delegate Kenneth Kerr, HB 282 would standardize parts of the speed camera citation review process with the red-light camera citation process. The overall goal of the bill is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of speed cameras, which have been proven to change driver behavior and increase public safety. As Town of Denton Police Chief George Bacorn testified during the bill’s hearing, there is no special training that makes a police officer more capable or better suited than a trained technician to review these civil violations. The bill was amended by the House Environment and Transportation Committee to only apply to municipalities without a police agency. 

“The original speed camera law effectively barred this public safety tool from the roughly 70 municipalities that do not have sworn officers to review the footage,” said John Carroll, MML President and Mayor of Galena. “Given most cameras are located around school sites, this created pockets of inconsistency in how we protect our most vulnerable populations.” 

Both SB 14 (Sen. Michael A. Jackson) and HB 1281 (Del. Wayne A. Hartman), which would allow local governments to create tourism zones, have now passed their respective chambers in identical posture, including an amendment to extend the authority to counties. In addition to allowing local jurisdictions to self-designate the boundaries of a tourism zone, the bill also provides the authority to establish definitions for tourism businesses, provide certain local incentives, and set qualifications for those incentives. Incentives include, but are not limited to, real property tax credits, personal property tax credits, and exemption from local Admission and Amusement tax.