With the rush of national news, I haven’t been keeping up with this year’s Texas legislative session as well as I should. But one bit of good news: The legislature finally passed a ban on red light cameras.
The Republican-led push to rid Texas intersections of red-light cameras moved one step closer to becoming law after the state Senate signed off on a measure with that aim Friday, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
House Bill 1631 cleared the chamber on a 23-8 vote after several back-and-forths among senators about studies that both support and challenge the efficacy of the devices when it comes to promoting safer streets. The Senate left in place a key provision to allow local governments to continue operating cameras until they finish out any contracts in effect as of May 7.
“Red-light cameras violate the right to due process guaranteed under Article 1 of the Texas Constitution by creating a presumption that the registered owner of the car committed a violation when in fact that may not have been the case,” said state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, who is sponsoring the legislation originally offered by state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford.
Worth noting: All but two of the House “No” votes on the bill were from Democrats, who evidently have no problem draining money from poor Texas motorists to fill government coffers.
In addition to violating due process, red light cameras are a cash grab that actually make streets less safe. Moreover, most of the cities using red light cameras are doing so illegally, as required engineering studies of red light camera intersections were never conducted.
Voters in Killeen, Corpus Christi, Arlington and Houston have already repealed their red light camera programs. Once Governor Abbott signs the bill, the clock starts ticking on winding down the remaining programs.
The sooner the better.
