A bipartisan bill to add speed cameras in Baltimore County got some bipartisan pushback on the floor of the State Senate on Tuesday.
If passed, SB338 would allow the State Highway Administration to add six speed cameras on I-83 in Baltimore County and eight speed cameras to I-695, also in the County.
"I'm glad that Baltimore County saw the light," said Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City), who supported the bill to add speed cameras to I-83 in the City in 2021.
The 2021 bill passed, and those City I-83 cameras are being moved to new locations pretty soon.
Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County), the primary sponsor of the bill, acknowledged that he'd voted against the bill in 2021, but has seen how helpful they can be.
"Speed cameras are not popular," says Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County), a co-sponsor of the bill. "I've had that conversation in my own home, they're not popular. But they save lives."
Sen. Justin Ready (R-Frederick & Carroll Counties) expressed his concerns about speed cameras in general.
"It's that the extrajudicial nature of speed cameras are a problem," he says, asking West about whether or not someone who gets a speeding ticket from a camera can fight it in court.
Sen. West answered that people can fight it in court, on the basis of whether or not the cameras were calibrated correctly on the day of the citation.
"I think it may be too excessive," says Sen. Antonio Hayes (D-Baltimore City), referring to the number of cameras. Hayes supported the 2021 bill.
The bill was special ordered until Thursday for the purpose of adding amendments.
The deadline for crossing bills over to the opposite chamber is Monday, March 17.
