Minnesota Bill for Red-Light Cameras has Shaky Start

ST. PAUL (AP) — A bill permitting Minnesota cities to post cameras at intersections to catch red-light runners has been set aside just as a House committee appeared ready to defeat it.

A divided House Transportation Policy Committee spent hours Wednesday debating the camera patrol bill that detractors call photo-cop. Just before a vote, the panel's chairman pulled the back and later acknowledged to reporters that it was headed for defeat.

The red-light cameras were used in Minneapolis for a couple of years before the state Supreme Court struck down the city's ordinance in 2007. The court said the city couldn't always prove who was at the wheel when it mailed out tickets.

The legislation would establish requirements that cities using the cameras link a driver to a vehicle blasting through an intersection.

Filed Under: red light cameras