The battle for Liberty is a time and expense consuming one. This week, we were able to take a step forward in the red light camera battle. In the last Florida legislative session, the battle centered over banning the cameras. The bill barely passed the House and was never heard in the Senate. The process of an idea becoming a law is an extensive one, but in summary the idea must be sponsored by a member in the House and the Senate, then sent to bill drafting so it is formatted in the language of the Legislature and then sent to committees and finally voted on in both chambers- I'll call it Legislatese. As an example, what you or I may call a camera in Legislatese it is a traffic infraction detector. What's the difference?
Running a red light is but one traffic infraction. Others are things like speeding, following too closely, careless driving, etc. If you called a device a red light camera, it would not be able to issue a ticket for speeding. However, a traffic infraction detector could be used for any traffic infraction in the law book. This is why it is so important when reading laws, you must understand that it's not what they allow, but also what they do not prohibit. Under current Florida law, it is possible to utilize cameras for speed enforcement, just as is done in England. More on England in a bit.
The good news here is that this week, Rep. Peter Nehr of District 48 in the Tampa Bay area filed HB 343, which contains the Motorist Rights Restoration Act. A companion bill will be in the Senate soon. This law will place any camera tickets on a level playing field with those other tickets. In summary:
- It does not ban cameras. If someone gets a ticket in the mail, and they want to pay it, they can. A large majority of people that get tickets pay them. However, if an individual wishes to exercise their right to due process, the Act makes this practical.
- It gives vehicle owners the opportunity for a hearing when the first ticket is mailed. Currently, they must wait 30 days and receive a second ticket to go to court. This is a due process issue that is covered by the 14th Amendment.
- It makes the charging authority (the government) responsible for proving the law was broken by a specific person, not just a vehicle. Currently, this is done via the vehicle owner, who enters the court with the presumption of guilt, not innocence. The 5th Amendment's right against self-incrimination does not apply to civil infractions, but remember there were no traffic tickets when this Amendment was written. The concept remains the same- it was written for a reason, that reason being the life experience the colonists had with the King of England forcing confessions by weight of law.
- It requires the appearance in court as witnesses anyone that processed any evidence the charging authority relies upon. This is consistent with other cases where evidence is presented in court- someone has to be there to authenticate it. The cost for doing so under Florida law is provided by the State Attorney.
- It requires accuracy checks on the devices similar to what police do with radars and other devices used for traffic enforcement, and provides fines against the camera company and government for violations.
If you support the cameras, then this does not ban them, and hopefully you also support the rights of individuals upon which our nation was founded.
If you oppose the cameras, this does not ban them. Hopefully you realize what a difficult fight that was last session, and how it is better to focus on the deficiencies in the current law.
I salute Rep. Nehr for sponsoring this bill, as it is the first step in this battle. Please call or email him and thank him for doing so. We often want to call our legislators and vent our anger over laws, so it's only proper to also pass along a job well done.
The next step in this battle is getting this bill past committees. I will update with who needs to be contacted as the bill makes progress in the Legislature.
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.
One battle at a time…
The battle for Liberty is a time and expense consuming one. This week, we were able to take a step forward in the red light camera battle. In the last Florida legislative session, the battle centered over banning the cameras. The bill barely passed the House and was never heard in the Senate. The process of an idea becoming a law is an extensive one, but in summary the idea must be sponsored by a member in the House and the Senate, then sent to bill drafting so it is formatted in the language of the Legislature and then sent to committees and finally voted on in both chambers- I'll call it Legislatese. As an example, what you or I may call a camera in Legislatese it is a traffic infraction detector. What's the difference?
Running a red light is but one traffic infraction. Others are things like speeding, following too closely, careless driving, etc. If you called a device a red light camera, it would not be able to issue a ticket for speeding. However, a traffic infraction detector could be used for any traffic infraction in the law book. This is why it is so important when reading laws, you must understand that it's not what they allow, but also what they do not prohibit. Under current Florida law, it is possible to utilize cameras for speed enforcement, just as is done in England. More on England in a bit.
The good news here is that this week, Rep. Peter Nehr of District 48 in the Tampa Bay area filed HB 343, which contains the Motorist Rights Restoration Act. A companion bill will be in the Senate soon. This law will place any camera tickets on a level playing field with those other tickets. In summary:
If you support the cameras, then this does not ban them, and hopefully you also support the rights of individuals upon which our nation was founded.
If you oppose the cameras, this does not ban them. Hopefully you realize what a difficult fight that was last session, and how it is better to focus on the deficiencies in the current law.
I salute Rep. Nehr for sponsoring this bill, as it is the first step in this battle. Please call or email him and thank him for doing so. We often want to call our legislators and vent our anger over laws, so it's only proper to also pass along a job well done.
The next step in this battle is getting this bill past committees. I will update with who needs to be contacted as the bill makes progress in the Legislature.
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.