As a consolation to law enforcement officials who said the cameras help reduce crashes, legislators carved out an exception allowing communities to operate speed cameras in school zones during school hours as long as a police officer is present to monitor the machine.
Bill sponsors Reps. Ron Maag, R-Lebanon, and Dale Mallory, D-Cincinnati, said the cameras have been used as a cash grab and bypass due process. They were inspired by the case of Elmwood Place, a Hamilton County village of roughly 2,200 people that issued $1.5 million in tickets during the first six months its speeding cameras were on.
A judge ordered the cameras shut down last March.
Police and local governments that operate the cameras oppose the ban, saying they have helped reduce crashes and free up police resources to fight more serious crime.
Removing the cameras, which bring in anywhere from thousands to millions in fines to the 14 communities who currently have them, would leave a hole in their budgets that would require them to lay off employees or ask voters to increase taxes, opponents argue.
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