Red Light Cameras Could Vanish In Texas

by ABC-7 reporter/anchor Ashlie Hardway

EL PASO – Texas lawmakers spent more than eight hours debating a “sunset bill” with more than 250 amendments.

The main purpose of the bill is to restructure the Texas Department of Transportation, but one of the amendments that stuck out is the abolishment of red light cameras.

The bill passed the house unanimously with a voice vote on Friday.

Included in the package is an amendment that would prohibit the installation of any new red light camera and would require all existing cameras to be removed by the end of their contracts.

Rep. Joe Pickett sits on the ten-member conference committee that will now debate the entire package.

After five members from each the State house and senate come to an agreement on the bill’s contents, the package will go back to each legislative body.

If it passes the house and senate, it’s up to Governor Rick Perry to sign off on it.

Rep. Pickett says the debate over the red light cameras has come up every year in the past six to eight sessions, and every year the amendment abolishing them gets removed.

Pickett anticipates that will happen during the committee’s debate in the next two weeks. He doesn’t support this particular amendment, but does support an overhaul of TexDOT.