Bill aims to ban traffic cameras in Tennessee

MEDINA, Tenn. — One state representative is once again trying to make traffic cameras illegal in Tennessee.

Rep. Andy Holt from Dresden has introduced a bill meant to ban unmanned traffic cameras.

“They don’t increase safety. They don’t deter speeding. They don’t do anything other than create another source of revenue for greedy municipalities across the state of Tennessee. That’s the bottom line. That’s it,” Holt said.

This is the seventh year Holt has fought to get rid of the cameras, saying this bill has actually been implemented in Texas.

“What’s different about this legislation is that it targets, specifically, the process of the photo-enforcement, claiming that photo evidence cannot be the sole evidence used in a citation,” Holt said.

He says with House Bill 1656, he’s fighting the way the traffic cameras operate, not the traffic cameras themselves since previous bills have failed.

“In essence, we’ve privatized police power for profit, and that’s what these cameras have done,” Holt said.

Holt hopes it moves forward this time around.

He hopes to get the bill on the house floor in the next three weeks, then it’ll move to the Senate if it passes.