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Judge favors Dayton over state in traffic camera fight

Ohio’s new restrictions on traffic cameras violate Dayton’s right to home rule, a Montgomery County Common Pleas judge ruled today in granting a permanent injunction to allow the city to continue citing motorists through its photo enforcement program.

Ohio Senate Bill 342, which took effect March 23, requires jurisdictions that use automated cameras to issue citations for speeding and running red lights to place an officer at the devices during their operation.

The law also requires cities to study traffic problems in an area before installing an automated camera. Cities also must oversee a 30-day public education campaign before installing a camera to alert the public about its presence.

Judge Barbara Gorman concluded the new law is intended to limit the legislative authority of municipalities, which violates home rule protections under the Ohio Constitution.

Gorman said the requirement of placing an officer at the cameras tells local jurisdictions how to allocate their law enforcement officers.

“Such a requirement is nothing more than an impermissible limit on a municipality to enforce its civil administrative laws for traffic control,” she wrote.

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