Red-light camera legislation is all about money - Courant.com
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-rennie-red-light-cameras-a-go-too-much-green-20120401,0,6379509.column
by Kevin Rennie Hartford
Courant April 1, 2012
Camera creep continues through this session of the General
Assembly. A bill authorizing the
installation of private vendors' red light cameras at public intersections in
the state's larger communities received the approval of the Transportation
Committee last month. The legislation and its path showcase everything
bad about an especially dangerous junction: where politics, influence and
commerce meet money.
Forget what supporters of the legislation say about guarding
public safety: This is about money. The private companies that win the
contracts to install, operate and enforce the scheme make many millions. The
municipalities that award the contracts glom millions from local drivers.
The camera snaps a photo of a car it detects going through a
red light. A ticket is issued and the burden of proof is placed on the owner of
the car to demonstrate that he or she was not the driver or that there was some
other error committed (such as having been part of a funeral procession, as I
have written previously).
This is the sort of expansion of government that one would
expect to rouse the state's moribund Republicans
to rise up. Opposing the intrusion and requirement that the accused prove his
innocence should be a natural stimulant on the right. Republican mayors would
rather have the money than guard fundamental principals. The office of
Republican Stamford
Mayor Michael Pavia referred me to his director of
operations, who declined to speak to me about the legislation.
Danbury's
Mark Boughton announced in his blog
that he has "not taken a position on the issue, mainly because I see merit
to both sides of the argument." Boughton ran
unsuccessfully for governor and lieutenant governor in 2010 by trumpeting his
small government credentials. Those evaporate when he hears the sound of a cash registers loading fines into the city treasury at
$50 a clip for Danbury
and $15 for the camera company.
Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia, also
a Republican, is in tough spot. His local ally, House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero (R-Brown Rudnick), is a lawyer at the law firm that
represents red light camera giant American Traffic Systems through its lobbying
arm. Cafero has insisted at times that he does not
even know who his firm's lobbying clients are. That makes observers in the
capitol village wonder what he talks about during all the time he spends in
plain view with his firm's lobbyists.
Republicans, of course, don't have the numbers or the
notable powers of persuasion to pass or stop anything in Connecticut. The Democrats
are as bad on this issue. Maybe worse. The cameras
will exploit the urban poor who are more likely to be snapped by a camera and
less likely to have the resources to fight or pay the fine. This is of no
consequence to Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney
of New Haven, the lead supporter of the bill.
What's astounding is that in the state where the right to
privacy was first recognized, so many Democrats believe drivers must consent to
camera surveillance by the simple act of operating a motor vehicle on many
public streets. Attorney General George Jepsen, who made a career shielding some from
government intrusion, finds his voice stilled as he canters away from the field
of battle.
We'll soon see if urban legislators are willing to protect
their constituents from this disproportionate penalty. Don't count on it.
There's another temptation out there that has received little attention.
Companies engage in a fierce competition to win camera contracts in
municipalities. The stakes are high, the rewards plentiful.
Companies want the contracts. They may need some help from
influential local political figures to get them. There is almost no regulation
of municipal lobbying in Connecticut.
In some parts of the country, shadowy figures who help secure red light camera
contracts receive a slice of the enormous pie.
In Connecticut,
we might never know who is chowing down on a red
light camera contract. It could be someone who serves in state government and
helped pass the legislation now threatening the Constitution State.
It could be a legislator whose law firm gets hired to prepare a bid or
negotiate a contract. With millions in play, they will find a way.