Red Light Cameras

Last year, Providence city officials persuaded the General Assembly to approve a bill authorizing the installation of automated “red light cameras,” but only after accepting a bevy of ACLU amendments designed to mitigate some of the privacy and due process concerns they raise. Significantly, a three-year sunset clause was included in the law. However, on the last day of this year’s session, Providence Rep. John McCauley tried to get the sunset clause repealed. In a matter of hours, the bill was heard by, and reassigned to, two different committees, until it was finally sent to the floor for a vote. Thanks to a concentrated Affiliate lobbying effort, the full House took no vote on the bill. The ACLU pointed out to legislators serious questions about the cameras’ effectiveness, and noted that the purpose of the sunset clause was to give officials the opportunity to review data after a few years of their use.