As the last days of the state legislative session approach, a battle is emerging over school safety cameras that is as much about the personalities of the lawmakers as it is about the cameras.
Two bills, both sponsored by Republicans, would address cameras that automatically ticket drivers who are speeding in school zones, but in different ways.
One measure, sponsored by state Rep. Dale Washburn of Macon, would outright ban these cameras, while the other, sponsored by state Rep. Alan Powell of Hartwell, would require jurisdictions to put up flashing beacons with radar speed detectors 500 feet from school zones to warn drivers how fast they’re driving before ticketing.
Rather than choose one approach, the House passed both measures.
When asked about the choice to pass House Bills 225 and 651, House Speaker Jon Burns didn’t provide much clarity and said he would leave it up to the Senate to hash it out. But before the beginning of the session, Burns said he wanted restrictions on the cameras, with certain guardrails, rather than a complete block.
“The way it should be is to protect children as their parents drop them off at school and pick them up in the afternoon,” he said, in a news conference. “Our intent was not 24/7 or (running) during the entirety of the day.”
He expected the debate would be contentious.
“We’re going to have a very lively discussion, and I think we’ll correct the issue on what our legislative intent is: that the schools zone cameras operate when young people are going to school in the mornings, and then when they’re leaving school in the afternoon,” he said.
But there have been some other roadblocks stopping slowing these bills down. Chief among them may be that Washburn frustrated some of his GOP colleagues by voting against Gov. Brian Kemp’s legislation to overhaul the state’s civil litigation system. Washburn suspects his bill to ban the cameras is being held in the Senate to punish him.
“I cast my vote on that bill based on careful consideration. So I find it absurd that I would be penalized with a bill that is totally unrelated to that issue,” he said. “I cast my votes based on what I think is best for my constituents and the citizens of Georgia. I do not take orders from leadership as to how I am to vote.”
However, Kemp’s office said they had nothing to do the bill being shelved.
“Neither the governor nor anyone acting on his behalf has interfered with this bill, and it is our understanding it is still going through the legislative process,” said Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Kemp.
Both bills were supposed to be heard in a Senate committee Friday morning, but the meeting was suddenly canceled. Powell, who voted in favor of Kemp’s legislation, said he received confirmation of the canceled meeting at 9:16 p.m. Thursday from the committee’s chairman, state Sen. John Albers of Roswell.
Washburn has pushed to get his bill heard, alongside Powell’s, and is confident he has the “better bill.”
In a statement Friday morning, Albers said “in the end, we weren’t able to reach a solution that met the high standard Georgians deserve” but that he would “continue working throughout the year with all the stakeholders to make real progress on key issues, including school zone cameras.”
Later Friday, Senate Rules Chairman Matt Brass resurrected the bills, moving them to his committee, which is the immediate precursor before bills go to the Senate floor.
“With the meeting being canceled, we feel this is important for the state to get some reforms and then vet the process of possibly doing away with them,” Brass said, adding that Monday is “our last chance to do anything around speed cameras.”
Even before Washburn’s vote against Kemp’s lawsuit legislation, tensions were already brewing over his bill.
Although a copy of the bill, reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, showed Washburn had a bipartisan group of 100 cosponsors, he believed lobbyists were preventing it from moving forward.
The companies behind the speed cameras have a half-dozen lobbyists working for them at the Capitol, and they have been large contributors over the years to Republican leadership.
RedSpeed Georgia, which makes cameras for school systems to crack down on speeding, contributed $150,000 each to the House Republican Caucus’ political action committee and the leadership committee for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones between September 2023 and October 2024.
Blue Line Solutions, another speeding camera company, also contributed about $131,300 between July 2012 and January 2025, according to Atlanta News First.
Washburn has several issues with the speeding cameras. He said they ticket drivers even when lights are not flashing in school zones and that these companies are taking up to one-third of revenue generated from speeding tickets to operate.
The camera systems have collected more than $112 million from Georgia drivers from 2019 to May 2024, most of which goes to local municipalities. Fines are about $100 per ticket.
“I believe money is being taken out of the pockets of our Georgia citizens every day, many of them who are unable to pay that money,” Washburn told the AJC. “I just think this is just an outrageous scam.”
Powell, who is sponsoring the competing bill, defended the camera companies.
“Everybody keeps pointing the finger into speed zone companies,” he said. “Listen, they furnish a product. They furnish the cameras, but the cities and the counties that use them get two-thirds of the money and that’s running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
April 4 is the last day of the Legislative session. If Washburn’s bill does not pass, he vowed to return his effort during the 2026 session.
“I will not give up on this. This is the right thing to do, and I will be back next year,” Washburn said.
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