2021 -- H 5981

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LC000678

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SPEED

ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Craven, McGaw, Fogarty, and Carson

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2021

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 31-41.3 of the General Laws entitled "Automated School-

Zone-Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016" is hereby amended to read as follows:

CHAPTER 31-41.3

Automated School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016

CHAPTER 31-41.3

AUTOMATED SPEED-ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 2021

     SECTION 2. Sections 31-41.3-1, 31-41.3-2, 31-41.3-3, 31-41.3-4, 31-41.3-6, 31-41.3-7,

31-41.3-8, 31-41.3-9, 31-41.3-10, 31-41.3-11, 31-41.3-13, 31-41.3-14 and 31-41.3-15 of the

General Laws in Chapter 31-41.3 entitled "Automated School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement System

Act of 2016" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     31-41.3-1. Short title.

     This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Automated School-Zone-

Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016 2021."

     31-41.3-2. Legislative findings.

     It is hereby found and declared that ever-increasing violations of the state's school-zone

speed laws and regulations place both motorists and students other persons using the state's streets

and roadways within school zones in danger. The legislature hereby declares that the use of

technology to reduce aggressive and dangerous speeding is in the best interest of public safety and

therefore adopts a policy of authorizing the use of automated traffic-speed-enforcement systems in

school zones on state and local roads within the state of Rhode Island. These systems shall be used

in conjunction with civil penalties imposed upon the owners of speeding vehicles in order to reduce

speeding violations.

     Nothing in this chapter shall supersede any criminal or civil penalty or sanction against the

driver of a vehicle who is cited by a law enforcement officer for a speeding violation in a school

zone.

     31-41.3-3. Automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system authorized and defined.

Automated speed-enforcement system authorized and defined.

     (a) The state department of transportation and the municipalities of this state are hereby

authorized to operate "automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems on all state and local

roads within the state of Rhode Island."

     (b) For the purposes of this chapter:

     (1) An "automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system" is an automated traffic-speed-

enforcement system operated within one-quarter (1/4) mile of any type of school on all state and

local roads in the state of Rhode Island;

     (2) An "automated traffic-speed-enforcement system" is defined as a system using one or

more vehicle detectors in combination with photography to identify and provide a photographic

image of vehicles which are exceeding the posted speed limit, or the speed limit designated by state

law or regulation, for a given school zone location on a state or local road, and may be in fixed or

mobile configurations; and

     (3) A "school zone" is defined as anywhere within a one-quarter (1/4) mile radius of any

type of school in the state of Rhode Island.

     31-41.3-4. Automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system operational

requirements and certification. Automated speed-enforcement system operational

requirements and certification.

     No automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall be used in the state of Rhode

Island unless the system has been approved and certified for use in the state by the director of the

department of transportation. The director of the department of transportation, in cooperation with

the state police, shall require that any automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system approved

and certified for use in the state of Rhode Island meets the following requirements:

     (1) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter

shall record the speed of vehicles within plus or minus one mile per hour of the actual speed.

     (2) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter

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shall record at least two (2) photographic images of the vehicle exceeding the speed limit, one of

which shall include the license plate attached to the rear of the vehicle.

     (3) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter

shall, at the time of violation, imprint upon the photographic images of vehicles exceeding the

speed limit:

     (i) The date and time of the violation; and

     (ii) The identity of the street, or school zone road being monitored, and location upon that

street, or within that school zone road, including the direction of travel and lane of travel; this

requirement may be met with code designations; and

     (iii) The posted or lawfully designated speed limit for the street or school zone road being

monitored; and

     (iv) The monitored speed of the vehicle identified in the photographic images as exceeding

the posted or lawfully designated school zone speed limit; and

     (v) The consecutive event number of each photograph taken.

     (4) Signs indicating that speed limits are enforced by automated speed enforcement

systems shall be clearly posted in areas where the systems are in use, at least one hundred feet

(100’) and not more than two hundred feet (200’) before the location of each system, At least one

hundred feet (100') prior to entering an automated school-zone area where a speed-enforcement

system is being operated, and on each approach to that area, four (4) signs, each measuring three

feet (3') in height by four feet (4') in width, shall be erected in locations where the view is

unobstructed, warning motorists that they will be entering an area monitored by an automated

speed-zone-enforcement system and that violators of speed limitations may be prosecuted. The An

automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system located in a school zone shall be operational

only from seven o'clock a.m. (7:00 a.m.) to six o'clock p.m. (6:00 p.m.) on school days of the

promulgated one-hundred-eighty-day (180) school calendar year adopted in the applicable

community.

     (5) It shall be the vendor's responsibility to furnish an annual report with all pertinent data

to the speaker of the house and the senate president.

     31-41.3-6. Maintenance of system.

     The state department of transportation, and/or the municipalities, may enter into an

agreement with a private corporation or other entity to provide automated school-zone-speed-

enforcement systems equipment services and to maintain the systems. A contract between a

government agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic-speed-enforcement

systems shall be based on the value of such equipment and related support services and shall not

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be based on a percentage of the revenue generated by the automated school-zone-speed-

enforcement system.

     31-41.3-7. Citation precedent.

     In the event a law enforcement officer stops and issues a citation to the driver of a vehicle

for a speeding violation, which violation is also captured by an automated school-zone-speed-

enforcement system, the citation issued to the driver by the law enforcement officer shall have and

take precedence, and the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system citation shall be

dismissed.

     31-41.3-8. Procedure -- Notice.

     (a) Except as expressly provided in this chapter, all prosecutions based on evidence

produced by an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall follow the procedures

established in chapter 41.1 of this title, chapter 18 of title 8, and the rules promulgated by the chief

magistrate of the traffic tribunal for the hearing of civil traffic violations. Citations may be issued

by an officer solely based on evidence obtained by use of an automated school-zone-speed-

enforcement system. All citations issued based on evidence obtained from an automated school-

zone-speed-enforcement system shall be issued within fourteen (14) days of the violation.

     (b) It shall be sufficient to commence a prosecution based on evidence obtained from an

automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system, provided that a copy of the citation and

supporting documentation be mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by the

registry of motor vehicles pursuant to § 31-3-34. For purposes of this section, the date of issuance

shall be the date of mailing.

     (c) The officer issuing the citation shall certify under penalties of perjury that the evidence

obtained from the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system was sufficient to demonstrate

a violation of the motor vehicle code. Such certification shall be sufficient in all prosecutions

pursuant to this chapter to justify the entry of a default judgment upon sufficient proof of actual

notice in all cases where the citation is not answered within the time period permitted.

     (d) The citation shall contain all the information provided for in the uniform summons as

referred to in § 31-41.1-1 and the rules of procedure promulgated by the chief magistrate of the

traffic tribunal.

     (e) In addition to the information in the uniform summons, the following information shall

be attached to the citation:

     (1) Copies of two (2) or more photographs, or microphotographs, or other recorded images

taken as proof of the violation; and

     (2) A signed statement by a trained law enforcement officer that, based on inspection of

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recorded images, the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of chapter 14 of title 31 relating

to speed restrictions; and

     (3) A statement that recorded images are evidence of a violation of this chapter; and

     (4) A statement that the person who receives a summons under this chapter may either pay

the civil penalty in accordance with the provisions of § 31-41.1-3, or elect to stand trial for the

alleged violation.

     31-41.3-9. Hearings.

     Evidence from an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall be considered

substantive evidence in the prosecution of all civil traffic violations. Evidence from an automated

school-zone-speed-enforcement system approved by the director of the department of

transportation shall be admitted without further authentication and such evidence may be deemed

sufficient to sustain a civil traffic violation. In addition to any other defenses as set forth herein,

any defenses cognizable at law, with the exception of that available under § 31-41.1-7, shall be

available to the individual who receives the citation commencing a prosecution under this chapter.

     31-41.3-10. Driver/registered owner liability.

     (a) The registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be primarily responsible in all

prosecutions brought pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this

section.

     (b) In all prosecutions of civil school-zone violations based on evidence obtained from an

automated traffic-speed-enforcement system, the registered owner of a vehicle which has been

operated in violation of a civil traffic violation, may be liable for such violation. The registered

owner of the vehicle may assume liability for the violation by paying the fine, or by defending the

violation pursuant to the remedies available under the law.

     (c) The lessee of a leased vehicle shall be considered the owner of a motor vehicle for

purposes of this section.

     31-41.3-11. Use of evidence in criminal and civil cases.

     Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the use of evidence produced by an automated school-

zone-speed-enforcement system in a criminal or civil proceeding; provided, that the admissibility

of such evidence shall follow the applicable laws and rules of procedure and rules of evidence

which apply in criminal and civil proceedings.

     31-41.3-13. Security of records.

     (a) The recorded images produced by an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement

system shall not be deemed "public records" subject to disclosure pursuant to § 38-2-2.

     (b) All recorded images that do not identify a violation shall be destroyed within ninety

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(90) days of the date the image was recorded, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent

jurisdiction.

     (c) All recorded images that identify a violation shall be destroyed within one year after

the citation is resolved by administrative payment, trial, or other final disposition of the citation,

unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

     (d) The privacy of records produced pursuant to this chapter shall be maintained; provided,

that aggregate data not containing personal identifying information may be released.

     31-41.3-14. Reports.

     (a) The agency or municipality authorizing the installation of automated school-zone-

speed-enforcement systems shall prepare an annual report containing data on:

     (1) The number of citations issued at each particular school zone location;

     (2) The number of those violations paid by mail;

     (3) The number of those violations found after trial or hearing;

     (4) The number of violations dismissed after trial or hearing;

     (5) The number of accidents at each school zone location;

     (6) A description as to the type of accident;

     (7) An indication regarding whether there were any injuries involved in any accident

reported;

     (8) The cost to maintain the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system; and

     (9) The amount of revenue obtained from the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement

system.

     31-41.3-15. Penalties.

     (a) Every person found to have violated the provisions of this chapter shall be fined fifty

dollars ($50.00) for each offense; provided, however that for a period of thirty (30) days following

the installation of any new automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system, a violation recorded

by the system shall only be enforced by the issuance of a warning.

     (b) A violation of this chapter shall not be considered a moving violation for purposes of

the motorist's driving record.

     (c) Every three (3) years from the date of the motorist's first offense under this chapter, the

court shall expunge any automated school-zone-speed-enforcement violations during the preceding

three-year (3) period.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SPEED

ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM

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     This act would authorize the use of automated traffic-speed camera-enforcement systems

on all state and local roads within the state, not just in school zones.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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