By Staff Reporter |

Voters may soon get to decide whether or not photo radar will continue to be used in the state.

A committee in the State Senate approved the bill on Tuesday.

SCR 1004 would ban photo enforcement systems used to identify violators of speed restrictions or traffic control devices from the entire state.

If approved by the state legislature, the measure could appear on the ballot as early as this November. Lawmakers opted for a resolution as a more viable pathway to bypass the requirement for Governor Katie Hobbs’ approval. 

The governor didn’t support attempts to ban photo radar in the past.

Last year, the governor vetoed the same legislative language (outlined in a bill rather than a resolution) after its party-line approval in the legislature. No Democrats in either the House or Senate voted for the bill. Hobbs’ veto letter argued that the removal of photo radar would make the roads more dangerous, not safer. 

“This bill attempts to remove the ability of local law enforcement to keep our streets safe by eliminating a tool used to enhance roadway safety,” stated Hobbs.

This sentiment was shared by Democratic lawmakers. State Sen. Lauren Kuby argued that certain studies supported the effectiveness of photo enforcement systems to reduce and deter traffic violations.

During voting on the bill last year, some Republicans — Reps. Teresa Martinez, Justin Wilmeth, Alexander Kolodin — did express doubts about the strategy of advancing a bill with SB 1019 rather than a resolution. An identical measure existed in SCR 1002. 

Wilmeth said they were “wasting” their time by voting on the bill version of the legislation rather than the resolution. 

“I want my Republican caucus members to understand: this bill will pass, and it will get vetoed,” said Wilmeth. “This is what majorities are about, and in this issue we are wasting our opportunity.” 

Kolodin said Democrats were defending photo radar under false pretenses of public safety concerns, and that their true intentions had to do with ticket revenues’ ties to clean election campaign funds.

“The photo radar scam is the way that our friends across the aisle fund their war machine. They run candidates in noncompetitive districts and funnel taxpayer money over to competitive districts, all on the backs of hardworking Arizona drivers who are denied due process when they receive their traffic tickets,” said Kolodin. “It’s almost as if we’re more interested in making a show of solving the problem than actually solving the problem.” 

State Sen. Wendy Rogers authored both pieces of legislation last year and was the lawmaker to reintroduce it again this year. 

Rogers disputed Hobbs’ veto claim in a press release published on Tuesday. The state senator stressed the unreliability of automated enforcement, which is what photo radars operate under. Rogers said it should be law enforcement, not technology, to make the judgment call on violations of traffic law. 

“Automated enforcement removes discretion, undermines due process, and turns routine driving into a revenue stream,” said Senator Rogers. “That’s not how law enforcement should work in Arizona. The resolution does not excuse dangerous driving or eliminate traffic enforcement. It ensures that enforcement decisions are made by trained law enforcement officers, not algorithms and contractors.”

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