PRINTER'S NO. 2348
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1748
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY MARSHALL, BERNSTINE, O'BRIEN, ROTHMAN,
SCHLOSSBERG, WARD AND WHEELAND, AUGUST 30, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, AUGUST 30, 2017
AN ACT
Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, in rules of the road in general, providing for
pilot program for automated speed enforcement system in
highway work zones.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 3369. Pilot program for automated speed enforcement system in
highway work zones.
(a) General rule.--A pilot program is established to provide
for an automated speed enforcement system in work zones on State
highways. The following apply:
(1) The department, following promulgation of
regulations, is authorized to enforce section 3362 (relating
to maximum speed limits) by recording violations using an
automated speed enforcement system approved by the
department.
(2) This section shall only be applicable on Federal aid
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highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in areas agreed upon
by the system administrator and the secretary using an
automated speed enforcement system.
(b) Owner liability.--For each violation under this section,
the owner of the vehicle shall be liable for the penalty imposed
unless the owner is convicted of the same violation under
another section of this title or has a defense under subsection
(g).
(c) Certificate as evidence.--A certificate, or a facsimile
of a certificate, based upon inspection of recorded images
produced by an automated speed enforcement system and sworn to
or affirmed by a police officer shall be prima facie evidence of
the facts contained in it. The system administrator must include
written documentation that the automated speed enforcement
system was operating correctly at the time of the alleged
violation. A recorded image evidencing a violation of section
3362 shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative
proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the violation.
(d) Penalty.--The following shall apply:
(1) The penalty for a violation under subsection (a)
shall be a fine of $40.
(2) A penalty is authorized only for a violation of this
section if each of the following apply:
(i) At least two appropriate warning signs are
conspicuously placed at the beginning and end and at two-
mile intervals of the designated highway work zone
notifying the public that an automated speed enforcement
device is in use.
(ii) A notice identifying the location of the
automated speed enforcement system is posted on a
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publicly accessible Internet website throughout the
period of use.
(3) A fine is not authorized during the first 10 days of
operation of an automated speed enforcement system in each
separate highway work zone.
(4) The system administrator may provide a written
warning to the registered owner of a vehicle determined to
have violated this section during the first 10 days of
operation of the automated speed enforcement system.
(5) A penalty imposed under this section shall not be
deemed a criminal conviction and shall not be made part of
the operating record under section 1535 (relating to schedule
of convictions and points) of the individual upon whom the
penalty is imposed, nor may the imposition of the penalty be
subject to merit rating for insurance purposes.
(6) No surcharge points may be imposed in the provision
of motor vehicle insurance coverage. Penalties collected
under this section shall not be subject to 42 Pa.C.S. § 3571
(relating to Commonwealth portion of fines, etc.) or 3573
(relating to municipal corporation portion of fines, etc.).
(e) Liability.--Driving in excess of the posted speed limit
along the designated highway work zone by 11 miles per hour or
more is a violation of this section.
(f) Limitations.--The following shall apply:
(1) No automated speed enforcement system shall be
utilized in such a manner as to take a frontal view recorded
image of the vehicle as evidence of having committed a
violation.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, camera
equipment deployed as part of an automated speed enforcement
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system as provided in this section must be incapable of
automated or user-controlled remote surveillance by means of
recorded video images. Recorded images collected as part of
the automated speed enforcement system must only record
traffic violations and may not be used for any other
surveillance purposes, but may include video of the area
enforced when triggered by a violation. The restrictions set
forth in this paragraph shall not be deemed to preclude a
court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order
directing that the information be provided to law enforcement
officials if the information is reasonably described and is
requested solely in connection with a criminal law
enforcement action.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
information prepared under this section and information
relating to violations under this section which is kept by
the department, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or system
administrator or their authorized agents or employees,
including recorded images, written records, reports or
facsimiles, names, addresses and the number of violations
under this section, shall be for the exclusive use of the
department, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and system
administrator, their authorized agents and employees and law
enforcement officials for the purpose of discharging their
duties under this section. The information shall not be
deemed a public record under the act of February 14, 2008
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. The
information shall not be discoverable by court order or
otherwise, nor shall it be offered in evidence in any action
or proceeding which is not directly related to a violation of
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this section. The restrictions set forth in this paragraph
shall not be deemed to preclude a court of competent
jurisdiction from issuing an order directing that the
information be provided to law enforcement officials if the
information is reasonably described and is requested solely
in connection with a criminal law enforcement action.
(4) Recorded images obtained through the use of
automated speed enforcement systems deployed as a means of
promoting traffic safety in this Commonwealth shall be
destroyed within one year of final disposition of any
recorded event except that images subject to a court order
under paragraph (2) or (3) shall be destroyed within two
years after the date of the order, unless further extended by
court order. The department shall file notice with the
Department of State that the records have been destroyed in
accordance with this section.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
registered vehicle owner information obtained as a result of
the operation of an automated speed enforcement system under
this section shall not be the property of the manufacturer or
vendor of the automated speed enforcement system and may not
be used for any purpose other than prescribed in this
section.
(6) A violation of this subsection shall constitute a
misdemeanor of the third-degree punishable by a $500 fine.
Each violation shall constitute a separate and distinct
offense.
(g) Defenses.--The following shall apply:
(1) It shall be a defense to a violation under this
section that the person named in the notice of the violation
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was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation.
The owner may be required to submit evidence that the owner
was not the driver at the time of the alleged violation. The
owner of the vehicle shall not be required to disclose the
identity of the operator of the vehicle at the time of the
violation.
(2) If an owner receives a notice of violation pursuant
to this section of a time period during which the vehicle was
reported to a police department of any state or municipality
as having been stolen, it shall be a defense to a violation
under this section that the vehicle has been reported to a
police department as stolen prior to the time the violation
occurred and had not been recovered prior to that time.
(3) It shall be a defense to a violation under this
section that the person receiving the notice of violation was
not the owner of the vehicle at the time of the offense.
(4) It shall be a defense to a violation under this
section that the device being used to determine speed was not
in compliance with section 3368 (relating to speed timing
devices) with respect to testing for accuracy, certification
or calibration.
(h) Department approval.--No automated speed enforcement
system may be used without the approval of the department. The
department shall have the authority to promulgate regulations
for the certification and use of the systems, which may include
the use of radio-microwave devices (commonly referred to as
electronic speed meters or radar) or light detection and ranging
devices (commonly referred to as LIDAR) in their operations.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, these devices shall
be tested for accuracy at regular intervals as designated by
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regulation of the department.
(i) Procedure.--The following shall apply:
(1) An automated speed enforcement system may not be
used unless there is posted an appropriate sign in a
conspicuous place before the area in which the automated
speed enforcement device is to be used notifying the public
that an automated speed enforcement device is in use
immediately ahead.
(2) The department and the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Commission shall designate or appoint a system administrator
or system administrators to supervise and coordinate the
administration of notices of violation issued under this
section.
(3) A system administrator shall prepare a notice of
violation to the registered owner of a vehicle identified in
a recorded image produced by an automated speed enforcement
system as evidence of a violation of section 3362. The notice
of violation must be issued by a police officer employed by
the police department with primary jurisdiction over the area
where the violation occurred. The notice of violation shall
have the following attached to it:
(i) a copy of the recorded image showing the
vehicle;
(ii) the registration number and state of issuance
of the vehicle registration;
(iii) the date, time and place of the alleged
violation;
(iv) notice that the violation charged is under
section 3362; and
(v) instructions for return of the notice of
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violation, which shall read:
This notice shall be returned personally, by mail or
by an agent duly authorized in writing, within 30
days of issuance. A hearing may be obtained upon the
written request of the registered owner.
(j) System administrator.--The following shall apply:
(1) A system administrator may hire and designate
personnel as necessary or contract for services to implement
this section.
(2) The system administrator shall process notices of
violation and penalties issued under this section.
(3) Not later than April 1 annually, the system
administrator shall submit an annual report to the
chairperson and the minority chairperson of the
Transportation Committee of the Senate and the chairperson
and minority chairperson of the Transportation Committee of
the House of Representatives. The report shall be considered
a public record under the Right-to-Know Law and include for
the prior year:
(i) The number of violations and fines issued and
data regarding the speeds of vehicles in the enforcement
area.
(ii) A compilation of penalties paid and
outstanding.
(iii) The amount of money paid to a vendor or
manufacturer under this section.
(iv) The number of vehicular accidents and related
serious injuries and deaths along the designated highway
work zones.
(k) Notice to owner.--In the case of a violation involving a
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motor vehicle registered under the laws of this Commonwealth,
the notice of violation must be mailed within 30 days after the
commission of the violation or within 30 days after the
discovery of the identity of the registered owner, whichever is
later, and not thereafter to the address of the registered owner
as listed in the records of the department. In the case of motor
vehicles registered in jurisdictions other than this
Commonwealth, the notice of violation must be mailed within 30
days after the discovery of the identity of the registered owner
to the address of the registered owner as listed in the records
of the official in the jurisdiction having charge of the
registration of the vehicle. A notice of violation under this
section must be provided to an owner within 90 days of the
commission of the offense.
(l) Mailing of notice and records.--Notice of violation must
be sent by first class mail. A manual or automatic record of
mailing prepared by the system administrator in the ordinary
course of business shall be prima facie evidence of mailing and
shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding
as to the facts contained in it.
(m) Payment of fine.--The following shall apply:
(1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
issued may admit responsibility for the violation and pay the
fine provided in the notice.
(2) Payment must be made personally, through an
authorized agent, electronically or by mailing both payment
and the notice of violation to the system administrator.
Payment by mail must be made only by money order, credit card
or check made payable to the system administrator. The system
administrator shall remit the fine, less the system
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administrator's operation and maintenance costs necessitated
by this section, to the department for deposit into a
restricted receipts account in the Motor License Fund. Fines
deposited in the fund under this paragraph shall be used by
the department for a Transportation Enhancement Grants
Program as established by section 3116 (relating to automated
red light enforcement systems in first class cities). The
department shall award transportation enhancement grants on a
competitive basis. The department may pay actual
administrative costs arising from the department's
administration of this section. The department may not
reserve, designate or set aside a specific level of funds or
percentage of funds to an applicant prior to the completion
of the application process, nor may the department designate
a set percentage of funds to an applicant.
(3) Payment of the established fine and applicable
penalties shall operate as a final disposition of the case.
(n) Hearing.--The following shall apply:
(1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
issued may, within 30 days of the mailing of the notice,
request a hearing to contest the liability alleged in the
notice. A hearing request must be made by appearing before
the system administrator during regular office hours either
personally or by an authorized agent or by mailing a request
in writing. A hearing request form may be included with or as
part of the notice of violation.
(2) Upon receipt of a hearing request, the system
administrator shall in a timely manner schedule the matter
before a hearing officer. The hearing officer shall be
designated by the department. Written notice of the date,
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time and place of hearing must be sent by first class mail to
the owner. The system administrator shall establish
convenient hearing hours and times in each of the following
metropolitan areas for challenges to be heard as provided in
this section: Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and
Scranton.
(3) The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to 2 Pa.C.S.
Ch. 5 (relating to practice and procedure) and will be
subject to appeal pursuant to 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to
judicial review).
(o) Compensation to manufacturer or vendor.--Compensation
paid to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated speed
enforcement system may not be based upon the number of traffic
citations issued or a portion or percentage of the fine
generated by the citations. The compensation paid to the
manufacturer or vendor of the equipment shall be based upon the
value of the equipment and the services provided or rendered in
support of the automated speed enforcement system.
(p) Expiration.--This section shall expire five years from
its effective date.
Section 2. The Secretary of Transportation and the Chief
Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission shall
publish a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin when the automated
speed enforcement system is operational along the designated
highway work zones under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3369.
Section 3. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), the addition
of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3369 shall take effect in 120 days.
(2) The addition of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3369(e) shall take
effect 60 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin
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of the notice under section 2.
(3) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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