UPDATE: Municipalities Push for Change to Speed Camera Law

UPDATE: A bill that would allow non-sworn staff approve speed camera tickets has passed out of committee and will be voted on by the full Maryland Senate, according to Sen. Jennie Forehand, one of SB486's co-sponsors.

The bill will go to the floor sometime in the next few days, she said.

Forehand says she has been a long-time supporter of speed cameras, ever since she saw them in practice in Denver, CO years before Maryland adopted a similar system.

"The whole point is policemen, after going through all that training, should be out there catching criminals and speeders, rather than having to sit behind a computer all day and analyze photographs," she said.

After talking with one officer who was assigned to the duty, he told her, "This is something someone else could be doing," she said.

"I feel very confident the system is doing a good job and nobody is getting a ticket that doesn't deserve one," Forehand added.

ORIGINAL POST: Three municipalities are pushing for changes to controversial speed camera legislation that would allow a person other than a sworn police officer approve tickets.

The bill, SB486, went in front of the Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 21 for a hearing.

If approved, it would change the provision in the current statewide speed camera law that requires a sworn police officer review each violation and decide whether to issue a ticket.

That responsibility, according to Gaithersburg Legislative Liaison Monica Sanchez, would instead fall on a specially trained and certified city employee, probably working at the police department.

"It would save a little bit of money, but it could allow us to better assign our police officers," she said.

The officer currently assigned to reviewing the photo tickets spends about two to three hours every day doing that, Sanchez said. That means the person who would take the job could do it part-time.

The bill was pushed last year by Laurel and Rockville, she added. This year, Gaithersburg joined them.

It makes sense, she said, and it brings the program back to how it was originally envisioned.

"This is something that was done in 2006 during the pilot program," Sanchez said.

When the program was being tested, a retired police officer reviewed tickets on a part-time basis.

A sworn officer — a sergeant — would still be in charge of the program, and would ultimately be responsible for any tickets the non-sworn technician would approve, she said.

"He [the sergeant] has final say," she said. "We always err on the side of the violator anyway. But the sergeant still has the authority to void the citation."

But during a hearing in front of the Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 21, Ron Ely, the founder of the anti-speed camera website Stop Big Brother Maryland, testified against the change.

"We need more accountability, not less," Ely testified. "If you want to provide more material for my website and help to increase the readership of StopBigBrotherMD.org, by all means approve this legislation. If you believe that money from the innocent is the same color as money from the guilty, then approve this legislation. But if you are concerned about the integrity of the system then please keep law enforcement in the hands of police."

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 20), Sen. Jennie Forehand (D-Dist. 17) and Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21).

Neither Raskin nor Forehand were available for comment at the time of publication.

Sen. Rosapepe, who represents Laurel, sponsored the bill in the 2011 session.

The bill is cross-filed with a House version, HB 944, which is sponsored by Del. Barbara Frush (D-Dist. 21), Del. James Hubbard (D-Dist. 23A), and Del. Barbara Robinson (D-Dist. 40).