Effort to ban traffic cameras in Ohio heads to the Senate

State senators had their first chance Tuesday to review a bill that would ban red light and speed cameras in Ohio.

House Bill 59 passed the House in June in a 61-32 bipartisan vote. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Ron Maag, R-Lebanon, said unmanned cameras placed at intersections across the state violate the most basic concept that people are innocent until proven guilty and are used purely to generate revenue for local governments.

“The camera program in this state is an egregious violation of due process and has far overreached its intended purpose,” Maag told lawmakers on the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform committee.

Maag said it’s too late to regulate the cameras and he has yet to see a study showing the cameras increase safety.

The committee will hear testimony from city officials in favor of keeping the cameras and others who oppose the cameras before approving the bill and sending it to a full Senate vote.

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