A bill introduced in the Iowa House would no longer let cities use a private company to issue tickets and collect fines for speeding or red-light violations that are caught on camera. Gary Grant, a lobbyist for the City of Cedar Rapids, says it would be more expensive to have city staff handle the ticketing process.
David Adelman is a lobbyist for one of the vendors that handles tickets issued for traffic camera violations. He also represents the largest cities in Iowa that are part of the Metropolitan Coalition.
The bill also would end the confiscation of state income tax refunds from those who refuse to pay the fines generated by traffic camera tickets. Representative Daniel Gosa, a Democrat from Davenport, opposes the bill, including that part of it.
The bill cleared initial SUB-committee review Tuesday, but the bill’s floor manager says at this point he wouldn’t support bringing it up for a vote in a House committee. A state law that took effect July 1st set new parameters for traffic enforcement devices and has led to a 44% reduction in the number of traffic cameras placed around the state.
