State senator Bill Seitz is proposing a big change to how red light cameras are operated in Ohio.
"These photo monitoring devices are going to be allowed only if a police officer is physically present at the location to personally witness the violation," said Seitz. "By doing that, we solve the constitutional concern over the Home Rule amendment; and we also take a giant step towards retarding, if not outlawing, these revenue enhancement scams."
Seitz says his proposed bill introduced on Tuesday has been agreed to by the authors of the House version.
He also says it's identical to a 2006 bill that was approved by lawmakers but vetoed by then-Gov. Bob Taft.
Seitz says he disagrees with law enforcement officials who say the traffic cameras operate as an officer in the sky.
"It's not a human being, and you can talk to officers who will tell about the fallacy of relying on mere machines," said Seitz. "It's important to have an officers’ judgment and an officers’ involvement in issuing citations."
Seitz says he expects the bill to move quickly.
