Law enforcement by camera.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott received a great deal of acclaim last week as he added his signature to a partial ban on red light cameras that, so far, has shut down a majority of automated ticketing programs in the Lone Star State. US Representative Ron Wright, a Republican representing Arlington, Waxahachie and Corsicana in Congress, wants to replicate that success nationwide with the Traffic Camera Freedom Act.
Introduced last month, Wright’s four-page bill would use the congressional power over federal transportation funding to actively discourage cities around the country from deploying speed cameras and red light cameras. The proposal forces each state legislature to enact legislation outlawing automated ticketing machines or face the loss of one-half of the state’s share of the federal gasoline tax levy. That $42 billion pool of cash is divided up among the states according to a complicated formula. The Texas share is $3.8 billion, while smaller states like Rhode Island get $236 million.
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