On Monday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed a bill to expand the use of traffic safety cameras (House Bill 1793) to reduce several types of traffic violations. The bill has been a major priority for disability rights and transit advocates this year since it would allow cameras to capture violations by motorists blocking intersections, crosswalks, and transit lanes. Currently, only a law enforcement officer can give traffic tickets, and, given the pervasiveness of illegal driving behavior, they are catching only a tiny fraction of infractions.
Passage of the bill in the House is a major first step since a similar one last year did not even make it out of the Rules Committee for consideration by the full House. Since the bill has been made “necessary to implement the budget,” it may have legs to move and find passage in the Washington State Senate, despite only 12 days remaining in the legislative session.
The bill was passed primarily on a party line vote (57-41) with the Democratic majority easily lifting it across the line. Democrats batted down unhelpful amendments from Republicans prior to a final vote, and Republicans made willfully uninformed floor speeches in opposition to the bill even though it would not have any implication to their own legislative districts.
