BILL REQ. #:  H-4201.1 

Read first time 01/14/10.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to automated traffic safety cameras; amending RCW 46.63.075 and 46.63.170; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The purpose of law enforcement is to protect and serve, not collect and serve. Anything that corrupts this fundamental goal of guaranteeing public safety demeans and degrades the role of the law enforcement community in the eyes of the public.
     Automated traffic safety cameras are rapidly devolving into just such a degradation. Rather than fulfilling the original purpose for which the devices were approved, these cameras are instead seen by some as an opportunity to fleece the public in the guise of improving public safety. Although the cameras may still serve a legitimate purpose, further restrictions are necessary to insure that misuse is prevented and that the public's faith in the fairness of the system is upheld.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.63.075 and 2005 c 167 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In a traffic infraction case involving an infraction detected through the use of a photo enforcement system under RCW 46.63.160, or detected through the use of an automated traffic safety camera under RCW 46.63.170, proof that the particular vehicle described in the notice of traffic infraction was in violation of any such provision of RCW 46.63.160 or 46.63.170, together with proof that the person named in the notice of traffic infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the vehicle, constitutes in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person in control of the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.
     (2) This presumption may be overcome ((only)) if the registered owner states, under oath, in a written statement to the court or, if the registered owner wishes, in testimony before the court that the vehicle involved was, at the time, stolen or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the registered owner, in which case an order dismissing the infraction must be entered in the court records, notice of the dismissal must be sent to the registered owner, and no further hearings or actions are required of the registered owner. The registered owner must not be required to provide any additional information in a written statement beyond the fact that the registered owner was not operating the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation. Additionally, no court or jurisdiction may summon, harass, or intimidate any person into paying a monetary penalty for an infraction detected through the use of an automated traffic safety camera in any case in which the registered owner was not operating the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.63.170 and 2009 c 470 s 714 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 where the duration of the yellow change interval for the stoplight is at least four seconds, railroad crossings, and school speed zones only.
     (c) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, automated traffic safety cameras may be used to detect speed violations for the purposes of section 201(2), chapter 470, Laws of 2009 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) 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, 46.16.216, 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)) twenty-five dollars.
     (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 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, an automated traffic safety camera includes a camera used to detect speed violations for the purposes of section 201(2), chapter 470, Laws of 2009.
     (6) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, this section does not apply to automated traffic safety cameras for the purposes of section 218(2), chapter 470, Laws of 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect July 1, 2010.