1279-S AMH MCCU MALK 052
SHB 1279 - H AMD 381
By Representative McCune
NOT CONSIDERED 04/22/2011
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"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 ensure that misuse is prevented and that the public's faith in the fairness of the system is upheld.
Sec. 2. RCW 46.63.170 and 2010 c 161 s 1127 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)) adopt 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) A local legislative authority that adopts an
ordinance allowing for the use of automated traffic safety cameras must submit
the ordinance to the voters within its jurisdiction at the next general
election. The ordinance must be approved by a majority of the voters before
automated traffic safety cameras may be used within the jurisdiction.
(c) In cities and counties using automated traffic safety cameras before
July 24, 2005, the local legislative authority must submit a proposition to the
voters within its jurisdiction at the next general election. The proposition
must ask voters to approve or reject the continued use of automated traffic
safety cameras. If the proposition is not approved by a majority of the
voters, automated traffic safety cameras may not be used within the jurisdiction
unless the local legislative authority meets the requirements for cities and
counties not using automated safety cameras before July 24, 2005.
(d) 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))) (e) 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))) (f) 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))) (g) 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))) (h) 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))) (i) 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))) (j) 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))) (k) 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 lesser of the amount of a fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction or fifty 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."
Correct the title.
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EFFECT: Removes the entire underlying bill and replaces it with HB 1590, which contains the following provisions: · Requires a legislative authority that adopts an ordinance allowing for the use of automated traffic safety cameras to submit the ordinance to the voters within its jurisdiction at a general election; · Requires cities and counties using automated traffic safety cameras before July 24, 2005, to submit a proposition to the voters within its jurisdiction at the next general election to receive approval for the continued use of automated traffic safety cameras within the jurisdiction; · Requires the duration of the yellow change interval at stoplights with automated traffic safety cameras to be at least four seconds; and · Limits the amount of a fine issued for an infraction generated through the use of an automated safety camera to the lesser of the amount of a fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction or fifty dollars. |
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