Senate Committee Approves Speed Camera Bill

TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Legislation that aims to control speeding in highway construction zones now moves to the full Indiana Senate in spite of the reservations voiced by members of the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee.

Senate Bill 268, authored by Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, allows speed cameras to be placed in construction zones and drivers traveling faster than 11 miles per hour over the speed limit can be ticketed. The bill passed by a 7-2 margin.

“I support the intent and I want to help with that,” said Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charleston, at the hearing Tuesday.  “I just got some questions and some general concerns about some surveillance stuff.”

Garten and Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, cast the only votes against SB 268. Boots said that he was unsure about the idea of high-speed cameras recording people as they travel through construction zones.

In testimony at an earlier hearing, supporters of the bill said the proposed legislation could deter speeding and other reckless driving in construction zones that endanger the lives of workers.

At Tuesday’s hearing, the bill was amended to transfer oversight of the speed cameras from the state police to the Indiana Department of Transportation, change the penalty from a Class B infraction to a civil penalty and to deposit the penalties into the general fund.

Even as members of the committee voted to pass the bill, the majority of senators expressed concerns about SB 268 not being fully ready. Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, voted yes but said in the future he will vote no if changes are not made.

“I’m not sure this won’t work,” Niemeyer said. “But I don’t like the surveillance and things going on. I’m not a fan of that anywhere.”

FOOTNOTE: Haley Carney is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.