A commonly known truism is that there are many paths for a bill to take for it to fail. There is only one path for it to become a law. In the past couple of weeks, we are seeing opposition for two of our bills from people that claim to be supporters of liberty. I spend a lot of time countering opponents of liberty on these issues, so it confuses me when I have to do so with people I thought were on the side of liberty and Constitutional rule of law.
REAL ID, HB 109
Why won't he hear this bill?
This bill is stalled in the Transportation and Highway Safety subcommittee. The Chair, Rep. Brad Drake, depicted above, has thus far declined to move it forward. His is the first committee of three the bill must go through. Having met with a majority of the members of this committee, I have no doubt this bill would pass easily. Rep. Drake is concerned that since 80% of Floridians are already in the system and the courts would overturn any such legislation we would be wasting our time with the bill. All of his concerns have been addressed, and many Floridians have either called or written to Rep. Drake to ask him to just hear the bill. I'll point out that Florida's (along with 26 other states) suit against the similarly unconstitutional federal health insurance law is now headed to the Supreme Court, so that was certainly not a waste of time. Defending our liberty and sovereignty can never be a waste of time. Just like with mandated federal health insurance, many other states oppose REAL ID, and 19 have done something about it.
As to his concerns, the DHSMV Executive Director Julie Jones said only 5 million Floridians are in the system, so with over 12 million drivers (plus an unknown number of ID card holders), this is well under half. As I pointed out to Rep. Drake my kids and grandkids are not in there. He's been given relevant case law from the Supreme Court that shows our bill would be entirely defensible and Constitutional, as well as other legal, practical, and even biblical references on this issue.
As I've noted elsewhere, Rep. Drake campaigned on a pro-liberty and smaller government platform. From his current campaign website's "Brad on the Issues" page- these are the first two items:
These are my basic beliefs that guide me as a State Representative:
» The government should be least intrusive in our lives.
» We the people should hold more personal freedoms.
In an editorial dated October 19, 2011, the NW Florida Daily News was critical of Rep. Drake for his firing squad death penalty bill:
He also shrugged off criticism. “When somebody laughs at me and says, ‘You’re wasting your time,’ then it just makes me want to do it even more.”
Why won't he hear this bill in his subcommittee?
Motorist Rights Restoration Act (MRRA), HB 343
Yesterday and today I found a number of comments from people that oppose red light cameras that the MRRA is a "Trojan Horse" bill that will authorize speed cameras, and to oppose it. I've had to take the time to explain that speed cameras (and any other type of infraction) are already authorized under Florida law thanks to the 2010 camera law (HB 325 of 2010). See s. 316.0083, the devices are not prohibited. You will not find the word "camera" in that law, just the term "Traffic infraction detector". What a law does not prohibit is just as important as what it allows. The MRRA specifies that any unattended speed measuring device must be tested as specified in Florida law- and the referenced law mandates testing speed measuring devices every 6 months. Currently, red light cameras (or any other use of an infraction detector) have no requirement for accuracy testing. The MRRA adds this requirement.
The fact is that the camera ban bill died in 2011. It would likely do so again in 2012- one has not even been introduced. Instead of wasting time fighting that battle again, I thought it better to address the shortcomings of the existing law- which is what MRRA does, and these shortcomings were recognized by several pro-camera legislators last session. It does NOT authorize speed cameras- they are already authorized. If one had taken perhaps 5 minutes to read the 5 page (with summary) bill, they would have discovered this fact.
Here's what it says about speed:
(summary)
providing for testing of certain unattended devices used to enforce traffic laws; providing that such devices used to enforce speed limit laws are also subject to specified provisions;
(bill text)
(b) Any traffic infraction detector or other unattended device used to enforce the unlawful speed laws of this state is also subject to s. 316.1905.
How do you get the bill authorizing speed cameras out of that? To break it down further, s. 316.1905 is the law that requires police to have their radars and lasers tested for accuracy every 6 months. Some red light cameras can already measure speed- and there is zero regulation on them.
By the way, HB 343 is also on the table for Rep. Drake's subcommittee. Will he give it a hearing?
So we're fighting the battle on both sides here, people that say they support liberty and smaller government as well as those that wish to ban red light cameras. I made the observation that this is like us fighting England in WW2 before we fought the Germans. How do you think that one would have turned out? I'll give you a hint- we'd have had REAL ID a lot sooner and red light cameras would be the least of our worries.
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.
Friendly Fire…
A commonly known truism is that there are many paths for a bill to take for it to fail. There is only one path for it to become a law. In the past couple of weeks, we are seeing opposition for two of our bills from people that claim to be supporters of liberty. I spend a lot of time countering opponents of liberty on these issues, so it confuses me when I have to do so with people I thought were on the side of liberty and Constitutional rule of law.
REAL ID, HB 109
Why won't he hear this bill?
This bill is stalled in the Transportation and Highway Safety subcommittee. The Chair, Rep. Brad Drake, depicted above, has thus far declined to move it forward. His is the first committee of three the bill must go through. Having met with a majority of the members of this committee, I have no doubt this bill would pass easily. Rep. Drake is concerned that since 80% of Floridians are already in the system and the courts would overturn any such legislation we would be wasting our time with the bill. All of his concerns have been addressed, and many Floridians have either called or written to Rep. Drake to ask him to just hear the bill. I'll point out that Florida's (along with 26 other states) suit against the similarly unconstitutional federal health insurance law is now headed to the Supreme Court, so that was certainly not a waste of time. Defending our liberty and sovereignty can never be a waste of time. Just like with mandated federal health insurance, many other states oppose REAL ID, and 19 have done something about it.
As to his concerns, the DHSMV Executive Director Julie Jones said only 5 million Floridians are in the system, so with over 12 million drivers (plus an unknown number of ID card holders), this is well under half. As I pointed out to Rep. Drake my kids and grandkids are not in there. He's been given relevant case law from the Supreme Court that shows our bill would be entirely defensible and Constitutional, as well as other legal, practical, and even biblical references on this issue.
As I've noted elsewhere, Rep. Drake campaigned on a pro-liberty and smaller government platform. From his current campaign website's "Brad on the Issues" page- these are the first two items:
These are my basic beliefs that guide me as a State Representative:
» The government should be least intrusive in our lives.
» We the people should hold more personal freedoms.
In an editorial dated October 19, 2011, the NW Florida Daily News was critical of Rep. Drake for his firing squad death penalty bill:
He also shrugged off criticism. “When somebody laughs at me and says, ‘You’re wasting your time,’ then it just makes me want to do it even more.”
Why won't he hear this bill in his subcommittee?
Motorist Rights Restoration Act (MRRA), HB 343
Yesterday and today I found a number of comments from people that oppose red light cameras that the MRRA is a "Trojan Horse" bill that will authorize speed cameras, and to oppose it. I've had to take the time to explain that speed cameras (and any other type of infraction) are already authorized under Florida law thanks to the 2010 camera law (HB 325 of 2010). See s. 316.0083, the devices are not prohibited. You will not find the word "camera" in that law, just the term "Traffic infraction detector". What a law does not prohibit is just as important as what it allows. The MRRA specifies that any unattended speed measuring device must be tested as specified in Florida law- and the referenced law mandates testing speed measuring devices every 6 months. Currently, red light cameras (or any other use of an infraction detector) have no requirement for accuracy testing. The MRRA adds this requirement.
The fact is that the camera ban bill died in 2011. It would likely do so again in 2012- one has not even been introduced. Instead of wasting time fighting that battle again, I thought it better to address the shortcomings of the existing law- which is what MRRA does, and these shortcomings were recognized by several pro-camera legislators last session. It does NOT authorize speed cameras- they are already authorized. If one had taken perhaps 5 minutes to read the 5 page (with summary) bill, they would have discovered this fact.
Here's what it says about speed:
(summary)
providing for testing of certain unattended devices used to enforce traffic laws; providing that such devices used to enforce speed limit laws are also subject to specified provisions;
(bill text)
(b) Any traffic infraction detector or other unattended device used to enforce the unlawful speed laws of this state is also subject to s. 316.1905.
How do you get the bill authorizing speed cameras out of that? To break it down further, s. 316.1905 is the law that requires police to have their radars and lasers tested for accuracy every 6 months. Some red light cameras can already measure speed- and there is zero regulation on them.
By the way, HB 343 is also on the table for Rep. Drake's subcommittee. Will he give it a hearing?
So we're fighting the battle on both sides here, people that say they support liberty and smaller government as well as those that wish to ban red light cameras. I made the observation that this is like us fighting England in WW2 before we fought the Germans. How do you think that one would have turned out? I'll give you a hint- we'd have had REAL ID a lot sooner and red light cameras would be the least of our worries.
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.