Should cities and counties be allowed to use red light cameras as a way to balance their budgets?

Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, sponsor of last year’s measure to regulate traffic cameras, says this abuse has happened in other states, and he’s introducing two reforms to make sure it doesn’t happen here.

“The real goal of public safety is to protect and serve, and we need to ensure that public safety isn’t being perverted into a way to balance budgets,” said Hurst, a retired 25-year veteran police detective who worked undercover and as the Commander of a 15-City Homicide/Violent Crime Task Force.

“With more and more places putting up red light cameras, we need strong safeguards to make sure these cameras are used to reduce accidents, not boost revenues,” he said.

Hurst is chair of the Public Safety Committee and introduced a bill last session, House Bill 2780, which dealt with red light cameras.

“We’ve taken a look at how other states have dealt with these cameras, and come up with two comprehensive, balanced approaches to ensure that this tool cannot be abused. Now it’s up to the committee to decide which they prefer,” he said.

“I have heard overwhelmingly from folks that they don’t like how these programs are currently being run,” Hurst said. “The goal is to make sure red-light cameras are used for public safety purposes, not as a substitute for police or a blank check for fix budget shortfalls.”

Other states have seen amazing abuses of red light cameras, with some cities collecting millions of dollars in fines at intersections where the lights change so fast it’s easy for even good drivers, obeying the rules, to get a ticket in the mail from a robot.

“The people of Washington state need to know that if this technology is being used here, it’s being used correctly,” Hurst said.