Following two days of public testimony against Republican efforts to revive red-light camera ticketing, the Texas GOP voted to red-light the proposed legislation.
Two Republicans, State Sen. Donna Campbell of Bulverde and State Rep. Tom Craddick of Midland, filed matching measures that would allow Texas school districts to implement photo-enforced ticketing schemes using stop-arm cameras mounted on school buses.
Both measures received public hearings this week in each chamber’s Transportation Committee.
Terri Hall, head of the transportation-freedom group TURF (Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom), testified Wednesday against Campbell’s Senate Bill 744 and again on Thursday against Craddick’s House Bill 3034.
On Thursday afternoon, Hall announced that the Republican Party of Texas’ Legislative Priorities Committee had voted to officially oppose both red-light camera bills.
Hall called the proposals “toxic.”
Texas lawmakers banned all red-light cameras in 2019 after conservative activists fought for years against the policing-for-profit schemes that deny drivers’ due process rights.
Support for the ticketing systems on school buses was further eroded by a multimillion-dollar bribery and kickback scandal that brought down Dallas County Schools and landed multiple co-conspirators in prison.
Hall noted that “ethically challenged camera companies” are “making millions off motorists”— including stop-arm ticketing vendor BusPatrol, whose representative also testified at both hearings on the measures.
During Thursday’s House committee hearing, State Rep. Mitch Little (R–Lewisville) questioned BusPatrol’s vice president of government relations, Donny Wolfe, who testified in favor of the measures.
Little confirmed with Wolfe that BusPatrol “essentially collects a bounty for each citation that is issued,” which is negotiated with each school district and can be as high as 70 percent—incentivizing the company to program its systems to issue as many tickets as possible.
Little also questioned Wolfe about a Miami Herald article describing how Wolfe’s mother, Florida Republican State Rep. Vicki Lopez, had worked to get a school-bus red-light ticketing law passed in the Sunshine State, and soon afterwards, Wolfe was able to “cash in” with his company.
Wolfe claimed that negative media stories were instigated by business competitors.
At the end of the hearing on HB 3034, Craddick—who chairs the House Transportation Committee—said it was “ridiculous” for Hall to testify that the Republican Party of Texas is against reviving red-light cameras.
“I’m a Republican and I’m not against it,” said Craddick.
Craddick’s assertions aside, the Republican Party of Texas is now officially opposed to reviving red-light cameras.
Both SB 744 and HB 3034 were left pending in committee.
