An Act relating to automated traffic enforcement.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
WHEREAS empowering towns and cities in Massachusetts to use automated road safety cameras to promote safety, efficiency, fairness, and equity is in the best interest of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS the use of automated road safety cameras has been shown to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities; and
WHEREAS the use of automated road safety cameras can promote fair and unbiased policing, generate funds for infrastructure improvements, and channel resources to underserved communities; and
WHEREAS such cameras can be operated in a way that preserves privacy;
The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 90K the following chapter:-
CHAPTER 90L
“AN ACT REGULATING MUNICIPAL USAGE OF AUTOMATED ROAD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY.”
Section 1. Definitions
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
“Automated road safety camera system”, a device that detects and records photographs or videos of a motor vehicle that commits a camera enforceable violation in the vicinity where the device is installed, provided, however, that the device may be automated or operated manually.
“Camera cluster”, a set of automated road safety camera systems intended to capture camera enforceable violations in a single localized vicinity, including multiple camera systems monitoring a single intersection.
“Camera enforceable violation”, any of the following civil motor vehicle infractions: (i) failing to stop at a traffic control signal in violation of section 9 of chapter 89; (ii) making a right turn facing a steady red indication at a traffic control signal in violation of section 8 of chapter 89; (iii) exceeding the speed limit in violation of section 17 , section 18, or section 18B of chapter 90; and (iv) obstructing a lane or path marked for the exclusive use of bicycles in violation of section 4D of chapter 89.
''Citation'', a notice of a camera enforceable violation. Each citation shall be numbered and shall be in such form and such parts as determined jointly by the administrative justice of the district court department and the registrar.
“City or town,” a city or town that has adopted a form of charter government pursuant to chapter 43.
“Civil motor vehicle infraction”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90C
“Department of Transportation,” as defined in chapter 6C.
“Issuing authority”, the police chief of a city or town authorized to issue traffic citations under chapter 90C.
“Police chief”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90C.
''Registrar'', the registrar of motor vehicles.
“Registered owner”, the owner of a vehicle as defined in section 1 of chapter 90C, or a lessee of a vehicle who has registered a leased vehicle in their own name under section 2 of chapter 90C.
Section 2. Enabling Automated Traffic Enforcement
(a) Notwithstanding the requirements of section 3 of chapter 90C, a city or town may install and utilize automated road safety camera systems as a means of detecting and issuing citations for camera enforceable violations. All such use of automated road safety camera systems shall be subject to the restrictions and limitations in section 4 of this chapter.
(b) Citations issued under this chapter shall be issued by the issuing authority or his or her designees. Such designees are not required to be an employee of the issuing authority or a member of any sworn police force. However, any such designees must issue citations in accordance with policy directives or guidelines approved by the issuing authority.
(c) Citations issued under this chapter are issued to the registered owner of the cited vehicle. Such owner is liable for any financial penalties incurred under this chapter, regardless of whether the owner was the operator of the vehicle at the time of the citation. However, any other individual may pay financial penalties incurred under this chapter on the registered owner’s behalf.
Section 3. Penalties and Legal Effects
(a) A citation issued pursuant to this chapter shall require the registered owner of the cited vehicle to pay a fine of not more than twenty five dollars.
(b) The first camera enforceable violation detected by a particular camera cluster within a two-year period shall not require the registered owner of the cited vehicle to pay a fine. In lieu of a fine, the issuing authority shall notify the registered owner of the cited vehicle of the violation by mailing a written warning to the address of the registered owner. Such warning shall contain all the same information as required of a citation in subsection 5(a)(i) through 5(a)(iv).
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 3(a), if a registered owner of a cited vehicle has been issued greater than five citations from the same camera cluster within a two-year period, subsequent citations issued from such camera cluster shall require the recipient to pay a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
(d) The issuing authority may send a written warning to the registered owner of a cited vehicle for the purposes of education in lieu of enforcement through a fine; provided, however, that a written warning shall only be issued pursuant to objective and consistent criteria in a written policy established by the issuing authority.
(e) An issuing authority may offer recipients the option to complete an online educational driving course in lieu of paying the fine. Such course must receive the approval of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, or his or her designee, before an issuing authority may offer such course in lieu of a fine. No fee shall be required to access or complete such course. Completion of such course will constitute the full satisfaction of any penalty required by the citation.
(f) Failure to pay a citation issued under this section shall result in the legal consequences described in section 6 of chapter 90C.
(g) A camera enforceable violation issued pursuant to this chapter shall not be: (i) made part of the driving record of the person upon whom such liability is imposed; or (ii) a conviction of a moving violation of the motor vehicle laws for the purpose of determining a surcharge on a motor vehicle premium pursuant to section 113B of chapter 175.
Section 4. Restrictions and Limitations
(a) A citation may only be issued pursuant to section 2 for a camera enforceable violations that occur in: (i) safety zones designated under section 2 of chapter 85; (ii) construction zones designated under section 17D of chapter 90; or (iii) a location approved in writing by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation or his or her designee.
(b) No citation shall be issued under this chapter for exceeding the speed limit in violation of section 17 , section 18, or section 18B of chapter 90 unless the offending vehicle exceeds a speed limit by the greater of: (i) more than ten miles per hour over the posted limit; or (ii) one hundred and thirty percent of the posted limit.
(c) No citation shall be issued under this chapter for obstructing a lane or path marked for the exclusive use of bicycles in violation of section 4D of chapter 89 unless the offending vehicle obstructs such lane or path for greater than five continuous minutes. Furthermore, no citation shall be issued for the aforementioned violation if the violation occurred during a snow emergency declared by the town, city, or Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for the location in which the violation occurred.
(d) Before any citation is issued, a human reviewer must find, based on information collected by the automated road safety camera system, that it is more likely than not that a camera enforceable violation occurred. Such reviewer may be designated by the issuing authority, and is not required to be an employee of the issuing authority or a member of any sworn police force.
Section 5. Citation Procedures
(a) The issuing authority shall provide a citation to the registered owner of a motor vehicle that is identified in photographs produced by an automated road safety camera system as evidence of a camera enforceable violation. The citation shall include: (i) a photograph produced by the automated road safety camera system showing the vehicle at the time the operator was committing the camera enforceable violation; (ii) the registration number and state of issuance of the vehicle; (iii) the date, time and location of the alleged camera enforceable violation; (iv) the specific camera enforceable violation charged; (v) instructions for payment of any fine imposed; (vi) instructions on how to appeal the camera enforceable violation in writing and to obtain a hearing; and (vii) an affidavit form approved by the issuing authority for the purposes of making a written appeal.
(b) In the case of a violation involving a motor vehicle registered in the commonwealth, the citation shall be mailed within 14 days of the violation to the address of the registered owner of the motor vehicle as listed in the records of the registrar. If a motor vehicle is registered under the laws of another state or country, the citation shall be mailed within 21 days of the violation to the address of the registered owner as listed in the records of the official in the state or country that has charge of the registration of the motor vehicle. If the address is unavailable, it shall be sufficient for the municipal designee to mail a citation to the official in the state or country that has charge of the registration of the motor vehicle.
(c) The recipient of a citation shall be given the option of paying the fine imposed by the citation by mailed check or online payment, in addition to any other options allowed by the issuing authority. No fee or surcharge shall be imposed for the use of any available method of payment.
(d) A copy of the citation with a record of mailing shall be prima facie evidence thereof and shall be admitted as evidence of notice in any judicial or administrative proceeding as to the facts contained therein.
(e) A registered owner of a motor vehicle must be given at least 30 days to contest responsibility for the violation in writing by mail or online or to request an in person hearing. Not more than 21 days after receipt of the contestation or after the hearing, the municipality shall send a decision, including the reasons for the outcome, by mail to the registered owner. If the registered owner is found responsible for the violation, they may request further judicial review pursuant to section 14 of chapter 30A.
Section 6. Exceptions
(a) A registered owner of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for a camera enforceable violation under this chapter if the: violation was: (i) necessary to allow the passage of an emergency vehicle; (ii) incurred while participating in a funeral procession; (iii) incurred during a period of time in which the motor vehicle was reported to the police department of any state, city or town as having been stolen and had not been recovered before the time the violation occurred; or (iv) necessary to comply with any other law or regulation governing the operation of a motor vehicle.
(b) The operation of emergency vehicles shall be subject to this chapter except as otherwise provided in section 7B of chapter 89.
(c) If the registered owner of a motor vehicle is a person or entity engaged in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles and the motor vehicle was operated under a rental or lease agreement at the time of the camera enforceable violation, this section shall be applicable and the registered owner shall not be liable for any unpaid fines if, within 30 days of receiving the citation, the registered owner provides to the municipality: (i) the name and address of the lessee or rentee of the motor vehicle at the time of the camera enforceable violation; (ii) the lessee's or rentee's driver's license number; (iii) the state that issued such license; and (iv) the lessee's or rentee's date of birth.. Upon receipt of such information, the issuing authority may issue a citation to the lessee or rentee in the form prescribed by section 4, and the lessee or rentee shall be liable for the violation.
Section 7. Revenues
(a) A city or town may recover costs reasonably related to the implementation and operation of an automated road safety camera system including costs associated with: (i) maintaining and operating the automated road safety camera system; (ii) issuing citations for camera enforceable violations; (iii) holding hearings for appeals of camera enforceable violations; (iv) notifying the registrar of a failure to pay a fine under this chapter; and (v) collecting a fine.
(b) A contract between a city or town and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic enforcement equipment or a company providing maintenance and processing services shall not include any provision for the payment of compensation to the manufacturer, supplier, or company based on the number of citations generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated, as a result of the use of equipment authorized under this section.
(c) All revenues in excess of the costs described in subsection 7(a) shall be remitted to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund, as defined in section 4 of chapter 6C. The Secretary of the Department of Transportation shall use his or her authority under subsection 4(b) of chapter 6C to use such revenues to fund infrastructure improvements in the city or town in which such revenues were generated. In deciding how to exercise his or her discretion in allocating such funds, the Secretary is instructed to consider: (i) how to best improve safety in the vicinity of the automated road safety camera systems; (ii) how to allocate funds in a manner that fairly and equitably benefits the areas and communities responsible for generating such revenues; and (iii) how to best remedy inequities caused by prior underinvestment in social or physical infrastructure.
Section 8. Technological Requirements
(a) An automated road safety camera system shall only record photographs or video when a camera enforceable violation is detected. Such recording shall not extend more than thirty seconds before or after a camera enforceable violation is detected. Recorded data shall be destroyed not more than 48 hours after the final disposition of a camera enforceable violation.
(b) Photographs and other personal identifying information collected by a city or town pursuant to this chapter shall not be a public record under section 7 of chapter 4 or section three of chapter 66.
(c) A city or town or a manufacturer or vendor of an automated road safety camera system may not use, disclose, sell or permit access to data collected by an automated road safety camera system except: (i) as necessary to adjudicate a camera enforceable violations; (ii) as required by a lawful subpoena or court order; or (iii) pursuant to subsection 8(d).
(d) A photograph or other recorded evidence collected by an automated road safety camera system pursuant to this chapter shall not be discoverable or admissible in any criminal proceeding, unless the criminal proceeding is substantially related to the camera enforceable violation detected by the automated road safety camera system.
(e) An automated road safety camera system shall only retain image or video data in which the faces of individuals captured by the image or video data are blurred, censored, or otherwise rendered unrecognizable. The use of facial recognition technology in conjunction with an automated road safety camera system shall be prohibited.
Section 9. Rulemaking
The Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this chapter.
Section 10. State Enforcement
The Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation may bring an action in the superior court against a municipality for any violation of this chapter. In such an action, the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall not need to make any showing of injury in order to obtain injunctive relief.
Section 11. Reporting Requirements
Annually, not later than December 1, the issuing authority in every city or town utilizing an automated road safety camera system shall transmit a report to the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or his or her designee describing the present state of automated road safety camera systems in the city or town. The report shall include: (i) a list of the locations of each automated road safety camera system in the city or town; (ii) an explanation as to why automated road safety camera systems were selected for use at such locations, which shall include how the use of such systems and the penalties imposed promotes safety, fairness, and the equitable enforcement of traffic laws; (iii) the number of citations and warnings issued by the automated system in the preceding fiscal year; (iv) the number of physical vehicle collisions reported to the town or city in the vicinity of each automated road safety camera; and (v) an analysis of the frequency of traffic stops by the municipality’s police force prior to and after the implementation of an automated road safety camera system The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall make all reports received pursuant to this section available to the public in a digital form.