BILL REQ. #:  H-4708.2 



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HOUSE BILL 2819
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State of Washington62nd Legislature2012 1st Special Session

By Representatives Hurst and Dahlquist

Read first time 03/16/12.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.



     AN ACT Relating to establishing a voter participation process for automated traffic safety camera ordinances; amending RCW 46.63.170; adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.21 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 36.01 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   In Washington, the citizens' right of participation is a cornerstone of the legislative process at both the state and local level. The more the citizenry is able to participate in their government, the greater the legitimacy of the decisions that are reached.
     Citizens in a number of cities have recently voted to overturn decisions to install automated traffic safety cameras. The legislature therefore finds that it is necessary to take action to guarantee the right of all citizens to participate in these decisions and jointly decide if they wish to subject themselves to this type of electronic monitoring.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.63.170 and 2011 c 367 s 704 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The use of automated traffic safety cameras for issuance of notices of infraction is subject to the following requirements:
     (a) The appropriate local legislative authority must first enact an ordinance allowing for their use to detect one or more of the following: Stoplight, railroad crossing, or school speed zone violations. At a minimum, the local ordinance must contain the restrictions described in this section and provisions for public notice and signage. Cities and counties using automated traffic safety cameras before July 24, 2005, are subject to the restrictions described in this section, but are not required to enact an authorizing ordinance.
     (b) Use of automated traffic safety cameras is restricted to two-arterial intersections, railroad crossings, and school speed zones only.
     (c) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, automated traffic safety cameras may be used to detect speed violations for the purposes of section 201(2), chapter 367, Laws of 2011 if the local legislative authority first enacts an ordinance authorizing the use of cameras to detect speed violations.
     (d) Automated traffic safety cameras may only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while an infraction is occurring. The picture must not reveal the face of the driver or of passengers in the vehicle.
     (e) A notice of infraction must be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle within fourteen days of the violation, or to the renter of a vehicle within fourteen days of establishing the renter's name and address under subsection (3)(a) of this section. The law enforcement officer issuing the notice of infraction shall include with it a certificate or facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images produced by an automated traffic safety camera, stating the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This certificate or facsimile is prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it and is admissible in a proceeding charging a violation under this chapter. The photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images evidencing the violation must be available for inspection and admission into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the infraction. A person receiving a notice of infraction based on evidence detected by an automated traffic safety camera may respond to the notice by mail.
     (f) The registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for an infraction under RCW 46.63.030(1)(((e))) (d) unless the registered owner overcomes the presumption in RCW 46.63.075, or, in the case of a rental car business, satisfies the conditions under subsection (3) of this section. If appropriate under the circumstances, a renter identified under subsection (3)(a) of this section is responsible for an infraction.
     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images prepared under this section are for the exclusive use of law enforcement in the discharge of duties under this section and are not open to the public and may not be used in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a violation under this section. No photograph, microphotograph, or electronic image may be used for any purpose other than enforcement of violations under this section nor retained longer than necessary to enforce this section.
     (h) All locations where an automated traffic safety camera is used must be clearly marked by placing signs in locations that clearly indicate to a driver that he or she is entering a zone where traffic laws are enforced by an automated traffic safety camera.
     (i) If a county or city has established an authorized automated traffic safety camera program under this section, the compensation paid to the manufacturer or vendor of the equipment used must be based only upon the value of the equipment and services provided or rendered in support of the system, and may not be based upon a portion of the fine or civil penalty imposed or the revenue generated by the equipment.
     (2) Infractions detected through the use of automated traffic safety cameras are not part of the registered owner's driving record under RCW 46.52.101 and 46.52.120. Additionally, infractions generated by the use of automated traffic safety cameras under this section shall be processed in the same manner as parking infractions, including for the purposes of RCW 3.50.100, 35.20.220, 46.16A.120, and 46.20.270(3). However, the amount of the fine issued for an infraction generated through the use of an automated traffic safety camera shall not exceed the amount of a fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction.
     (3) If the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental car business, the law enforcement agency shall, before a notice of infraction being issued under this section, provide a written notice to the rental car business that a notice of infraction may be issued to the rental car business if the rental car business does not, within eighteen days of receiving the written notice, provide to the issuing agency by return mail:
     (a) A statement under oath stating the name and known mailing address of the individual driving or renting the vehicle when the infraction occurred; or
     (b) A statement under oath that the business is unable to determine who was driving or renting the vehicle at the time the infraction occurred because the vehicle was stolen at the time of the infraction. A statement provided under this subsection must be accompanied by a copy of a filed police report regarding the vehicle theft; or
     (c) In lieu of identifying the vehicle operator, the rental car business may pay the applicable penalty.
     Timely mailing of this statement to the issuing law enforcement agency relieves a rental car business of any liability under this chapter for the notice of infraction.
     (4) Nothing in this section prohibits a law enforcement officer from issuing a notice of traffic infraction to a person in control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs under RCW 46.63.030(1) (a), (b), or (c).
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "automated traffic safety camera" means a device that uses a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with an intersection traffic control system, a railroad grade crossing control system, or a speed measuring device, and a camera synchronized to automatically record one or more sequenced photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images of the rear of a motor vehicle at the time the vehicle fails to stop when facing a steady red traffic control signal or an activated railroad grade crossing control signal, or exceeds a speed limit in a school speed zone as detected by a speed measuring device. During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, an automated traffic safety camera includes a camera used to detect speed violations for the purposes of section 201(2), chapter 367, Laws of 2011.
     (6) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, this section does not apply to automated traffic safety cameras for the purposes of section 216(5), chapter 367, Laws of 2011.
     (7)(a) Ordinances adopted under this section are subject to referendum for forty-five days after passage. A referendum petition must be: Signed by registered voters in a number equal to not less than fifteen percent of the votes cast in the last general state election in the adopting county or city, as determined by the county auditor; submitted to the applicable county or city legislative body; and submitted to the auditor of the applicable county or the county in which all or a majority of the applicable city's territory is located. Upon receipt of the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency by the legislative body, the question of whether to employ automated traffic safety cameras as provided in the ordinance must be submitted to the voters of the county or city in a general election, if one is to be held within ninety days, or at a special election called for that purpose according to RCW 29A.04.321 or 29A.04.330. The election, including required notifications, must be conducted as provided in the general election law. The ordinance must be deemed approved by the voters unless a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in opposition to the proposition.
     (b) After the expiration of the forty-fifth day from but excluding the date of passage of the ordinance, if no timely and sufficient referendum petition has been filed, the ordinance must take effect upon the date fixed in the ordinance.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Ordinances pertaining to the use or prohibition of automated traffic safety cameras for issuance of notices of infraction may be initiated by petition of registered voters of the city filed with the legislative body. A copy of the petition must be filed with the auditor of the county in which all or a majority of the city's territory is located. If the petition accompanying the proposed ordinance is signed by registered voters in a number equal to not less than fifteen percent of the votes cast in the last general state election in the city, as determined by the county auditor, and if it contains a request that, unless passed by the legislative body, the ordinance be submitted to a vote of the registered voters of the city, the legislative body must:
     (a) Pass the proposed ordinance without alteration within twenty days after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency has been received by the legislative body; or
     (b) Immediately after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency for the petition is received, cause to be called a special election to be held within ninety days, or at a special election called for that purpose according to RCW 29A.04.321 or 29A.04.330, for submission of the proposed ordinance without alteration, to a vote of the people. If the number of votes cast favor the proposed ordinance, it is effective immediately and must be made a part of the record of ordinances of the city.
     (2) Elections called under this section, including required notifications, must be conducted as provided in the general election law.
     (3) The petitioner preparing an initiative petition for submission under this section must follow the procedures established in RCW 35.21.005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 35A.21 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Ordinances pertaining to the use or prohibition of automated traffic safety cameras for issuance of notices of infraction may be initiated by petition of registered voters of the code city filed with the legislative body. A copy of the petition must be filed with the auditor of the county in which all or a majority of the code city's territory is located. If the petition accompanying the proposed ordinance is signed by registered voters in a number equal to not less than fifteen percent of the votes cast in the last general state election in the code city, as determined by the county auditor, and if it contains a request that, unless passed by the legislative body, the ordinance be submitted to a vote of the registered voters of the code city, the legislative body must:
     (a) Pass the proposed ordinance without alteration within twenty days after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency has been received by the legislative body; or
     (b) Immediately after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency for the petition is received, cause to be called a special election to be held within ninety days, or at a special election called for that purpose according to RCW 29A.04.321 or 29A.04.330, for submission of the proposed ordinance without alteration, to a vote of the people. If the number of votes cast favor the proposed ordinance, it is effective immediately and must be made a part of the record of ordinances of the code city.
     (2) Elections called under this section, including required notifications, must be conducted as provided in the general election law.
     (3) The petitioner preparing an initiative petition for submission under this section must follow the procedures established in RCW 35.21.005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 36.01 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Ordinances pertaining to the use or prohibition of automated traffic safety cameras for issuance of notices of infraction may be initiated by petition of registered voters of the county filed with the legislative body. A copy of the petition must be filed with the county auditor. If the petition accompanying the proposed ordinance is signed by registered voters in a number equal to not less than fifteen percent of the votes cast in the last general state election in the city, as determined by the county auditor, and if it contains a request that, unless passed by the legislative body, the ordinance be submitted to a vote of the registered voters of the county, the legislative body must:
     (a) Pass the proposed ordinance without alteration within twenty days after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency has been received by the legislative body; or
     (b) Immediately after the county auditor's certificate of sufficiency for the petition is received, cause to be called a special election to be held within ninety days, or at a special election called for that purpose according to RCW 29A.04.321 or 29A.04.330, for submission of the proposed ordinance without alteration, to a vote of the people. If the number of votes cast favor the proposed ordinance, it is effective immediately and must be made a part of the record of ordinances of the county.
     (2) Elections called under this section, including required notifications, must be conducted as provided in the general election law.
     (3) The petitioner preparing an initiative petition for submission under this section must follow the procedures established in section 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 36.01 RCW to read as follows:
     Petitions filed under section 5 of this act must be submitted to the county auditor who shall verify the signatures on the petition to determine that the petition has been signed by the requisite number of persons who are registered voters within the county. If the petition is found not to have the requisite number of signatures, it must be returned to the petitioners. If the petition is found to be sufficient, the auditor shall certify and transmit the petition to the county legislative body.

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