Lawmakers are scheduled to take up a bill to allow automated traffic cameras in areas where traditional law-enforcement methods have failed to deter speeders and red-light runners, the third such bill pending in the 2025 session.
Senate Bill 415 to be heard at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Senate Growth & Infrastructure Committee would first require a finding that traditional law enforcement methods have failed to work, that there is a high risk of violations and a high rate of crashes at the location.
In addition, it would also require a public-information campaign and signs alerting drivers to the cameras. Violations would be considered civil infractions, and subject to a fine of up to $100.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill has come out in support of the cameras, saying that he doesn’t have enough officers to enforce laws and that crashes are getting out of hand. In his annual state of the police department speech in February, McMahill said, “…I am sick and tired of picking people up off the grounds of our streets because of the bad, irresponsible driving behavior or people in our community.”
Gov. Joe Lombardo who served as sheriff until being elected governor in 2022 has also come out in favor of the cameras.
In 2024, there were 377 fatal traffic crashes in Nevada, up 7% from the year before, according to the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety. A total of 412 people died in those crashes, a 5% increase from 2023.
WATCH |
Metro sheriff says road safety needs to change ‘People aren’t held accountable’: Metro sheriff says road safety needs to change
But there is opposition to the cameras, too. According to a presentation offered by the ACLU of Nevada, the public defenders of Clark and Washoe County and the Fines and Fees Justice Center, cameras “pose serious constitutional threats and undermine civil liberties.”
“Expanding surveillance normalizes constant government monitoring, creating a slippery slope toward mass surveillance,” the groups said in a presentation prepared for today’s committee hearing. “There are NO effective safeguards against the abuse and misuse of surveillance data.”
SB 415 isn’t the only bill that would authorize red-light cameras pending in the current session, either.
Assembly Bill 402 would allow authorities to put automated cameras in construction zones when workers are actually present. It was heard in the Assembly Growth and Infrastructure Committee last week.
And Assembly Bill 527 would equip school buses with cameras to catch people who drive past when red stop lights are flashing. That bill is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday.
Automated cameras have been banned in Nevada since 1999, amid concerns over civil liberties. Lawmakers tried in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2023 to repeal the ban and use red-light cameras, but those bills were all defeated.
In 2023, a bill called for using cameras only in school zones, but that measure died in committee without a vote.
Do you have questions about the Legislature, politics or elections? Email us using the Ask Steve link on our website.
Source link
