Ohio Governor to Sign Bill Restricting Red Light, Speed Cameras

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will sign a bill to limit how municipalities can use red light and speed cameras, said his spokesman, Rob Nichols.

“We don’t have the bill yet, so I don’t have a sense of timing,” he wrote in an email. “But the governor will sign it.”

Senate Bill 342 was passed by the House on Dec. 10, but not before two amendments were added — one to require a report of texting-while-driving violations as part of the legislature’s future consideration for making it a primary violation, and the other to preserve the right of citizens to vote on banning red light and speed camera measures in their own cities.

The Senate concurred on the amendments Dec. 11 and sent the bill to the governor. It will go into effect 90 days after it’s signed.

Cities and other jurisdictions who use the cameras said the provisions essentially would kill use of the devices, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue and increased accidents. Proponents of the bill said the cameras were all about the money, not safety.

Cities are facing not only the loss of future income from the cameras as a result of Senate Bill 342, but also could be looking at refunding all the money collected from them over the past six years if courts rule in favor of a man who is suing Toledo.

Read more at Watchdog.org.