Speed camera reform stalls in Virginia Senate
Virginia's new General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond opened just before the 2024 legislative session. (Photo by Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury)
After lawmakers uncovered millions in speed camera revenue across Virginia, a proposal to tighten regulations on the devices has hit a legislative roadblock. The General Assembly now waits to see whether a pared-down version of the plan will survive without triggering an expansion of automated enforcement.
The holdup follows the failure of House Bill 2041 — sponsored by Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax — along with two related Senate Bills, in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday. The 6-9 vote came amid a shake-up in the upper chamber's leadership, with Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, replacing Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, as committee chair.
For Seibold, the outcome was frustrating, especially after making multiple concessions to local governments and camera vendors. Seibold said she even included language from Senate Bill 1209, sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, requiring more regulations around operating speed cameras.
'I did act in best faith. I tried to give them everything they wanted, but clearly, they were working in the opposite direction of this bill all along,' Seibold said.
Her push for reform is deeply personal. Seibold said she introduced the bill in memory of three Fairfax teenagers struck by a student driver going 81 mph in a 35 mph zone in 2022. Two of them, 15-year-old Leeyan Yan and 14-year-old Ada Martinez Nolasco, lost their lives.
'I don't care about local governments making money off these devices,' Seibold said. 'Local governments have many opportunities to make money, how to drive revenue, increase taxes. This is not a tool to make money. This is a tool to save lives.'
HB 2041 would have required stricter approval for speed cameras, barred vendors from profiting off citations, ensured due process protections, and restricted revenue use to pedestrian safety improvements.
Seibold is now closely watching Senate Bill 1233, sponsored by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, which carries the same language as her bill and awaits consideration in the House.
House Transportation Committee Chair Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, noted that both bills were merged on Thursday in an agreement between her and the then-Senate committee chair, Boysko. Lawmakers will now meet in a conference to negotiate final language for the Seibold-Williams Graves bill.
Delaney hopes that the legislation will advance to a conference committee, ensuring the language from Seibold's proposal 'stays alive.' The measure has already cleared the Senate. It would allow law enforcement to install monitoring systems in school crossing zones, highway work zones, and high-risk intersections to record pedestrian crossing and stop sign violations.
Still, Delaney said she was frustrated by the Senate Transportation Committee's rejection of Seibold's version of the bill.
'I'm disappointed by the Senate's actions, because we had an opportunity to really make a statement against the policing for profit scheme that many localities seem to have in place right now,' Delaney said.
Before the committee voted on Seibold's bill, lawmakers conformed a third proposal — Senate Bill 776, introduced by Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax — to the Seibold-Williams Graves package. But the procedural move left Seibold unable to fully explain the bill's language or clarify where revenue from citations would be directed.
Surovell's bill, which sought to expand speed cameras to roads in National Parks, passed in the Senate but ultimately failed in the House.
The committee's decision reflects a broader sentiment among lawmakers: focus on tightening oversight of speed cameras rather than expanding their use.
'We all, I believe, are in agreement that these speed safety cameras have a role in helping to provide for better pedestrian safety and there are towns and localities who want to do this,' said Vice Chair David Reid, D-Loudoun, to The Mercury. 'But we also have to recognize that we've got to have the right type of guardrails to prevent abuse.'
For now, speed camera reform remains in limbo, as lawmakers debate how far the regulations should go.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What the 'Big, Beautiful' tax bill means for municipal bonds
JPMorgan raised its forecast for municipal bond sales in 2025 to $560 billion as US lawmakers deliberate over President Trump's "big, beautiful" tax and spending bill in the Senate. Goldman Sachs Asset Management co-head of municipal fixed income Sylvia Yeh weighs in on what policy changes to the US tax code could mean for municipal bond investors, as well as valuation catalysts in comparison to Treasury yields (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX). Goldman Sachs manages several municipal bond ETFs (GMUB, GCAL, GMNY, GUMI). To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TN Republicans' bill would oust officials who release 'confidential' immigration enforcement details
Top Tennessee Republican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it a felony and grounds for removal if public officials jeopardize the safety of federal law enforcement officers or disrupt federal immigration enforcement by revealing confidential operation details. The bill, filed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson on June 9, comes after a weeklong operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nashville in early May. The operation led to hundreds of traffic stops, in coordination with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and nearly 200 arrests. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has been under scrutiny from state and federal Republican leaders over his response to the arrests. During the operation, O'Connell updated an existing executive order that requires city departments to report communications with federal immigration officials to the mayor's office, tightening the timeline for those reports. Even in its original version, the executive order included a provision that those communications be posted online for transparency. When O'Connell's office posted that list in late May, it originally included the names of some officials who called. Those names have since been removed from the version of the spreadsheet posted online. During the sweeps in Nashville, O'Connell also repeatedly asked federal officials to release the names and charges of the people arrested, but to no avail. Some community members, meanwhile, were outspoken in their opposition to the operation. Immigrant rights groups and other Nashvillians showed up to protest at Nashville's ICE office not long after the sweeps began on May 4. That opposition extended to further protests several weeks later, an appearance from New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and a volunteer effort to monitor and verify ICE activity. U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and other D.C. Republicans have since called for a federal investigation into O'Connell, which was officially initiated on May 30. Meanwhile, Sexton called for O'Connell to rescind his executive order, saying it risks the safety of federal immigration agents. "The people of Tennessee expect their elected leaders to protect law enforcement — not endanger them," Johnson said in a June 9 news release. "When a public official like Mayor O'Connell chooses political activism over public safety, especially by interfering with federal immigration enforcement, he has no business holding office in this state." Johnson said he hopes the legislation "sends a message" to O'Connell and other "blue city" leaders that may act similarly. 'Mayor O'Connell's public refusal to rescind his executive order makes the need for this legislation unmistakably clear to prevent future political defiance that undermines the rule of law and puts law enforcement at risk,' Johnson said in the release. Sexton and Johnson did not provide any examples of O'Connell's interference with immigration enforcement operations. The bill would make it a Class E felony for state or local officials to "negligently release" information that identifies officers tasked with immigration enforcement and paves the way to oust those who violate the law, according to the release. Additionally, it expands provisions under the Tennessee Public Records Act to protect undercover officers and sensitive enforcement activity and beefs up penalties for unauthorized disclosures of protected law enforcement information. The bill is backed by top Senate Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, Republican Caucus Chair Ken Yager and Finance Committee Chair Bo Watson. It is set to be taken up in the 2026 legislative session. O'Connell's office had not responded to The Tennessean's request for comment by 11 a.m. on June 10. The move by Tennessee Republicans comes a few days after U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, introduced legislation to make it illegal to 'dox' federal law enforcement officials. She said the bill is a direct response to the spreadsheet published by O'Connell's office detailing recent communications between city departments with federal immigration agents. Blackburn filed the Protecting Law Enforcement From Doxxing Act on June 4, explicitly naming O'Connell as the impetus. That bill would make it illegal to 'publish the name of a federal law enforcement officer with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration operation.' An individual found guilty of doing so would face a fine and imprisonment of five years. In their joint news release on June 9, Sexton and Johnson praised Blackburn's efforts and say their proposed legislation complements her proposal. "Tennessee has always stood with law enforcement and we will not allow politically motivated actors to put officers' lives in danger simply to score political points with the far left," Sexton said in the release. "Tennessee will not become California, and Nashville will not become LA or San Francisco on our watch." Typically, "doxxing" refers to the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet, such as their home addresses, private contact information and names of family members. As for the public availability of law enforcement officers' names, they are not typically considered private information. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN bill would punish officials who reveal immigration enforcement details

USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered' for defying Trump, Speaker Johnson says
Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered' for defying Trump, Speaker Johnson says 'I'm not gonna give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered,' Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. Show Caption Hide Caption Los Angeles residents take pride in their city amid ICE protests USA TODAY spoke with Los Angeles residents about recent ICE raids and protests. House Speaker Mike Johnson is piling onto the Republican attacks aimed at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, telling reporters on June 10 that the state Democrat should be 'tarred and feathered' for challenging President Donald Trump over immigration enforcement. 'That's not my lane. I'm not gonna give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered,' Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in the U.S. Capitol during his weekly news conference. On June 9, Trump said "it would be a great thing" if his border czar Tom Homan arrested Newsom. The governor has challenged Trump's decision to call the California National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration enforcement. Trump has also ordered 700 Marines be sent to the nation's second-largest city. In his news conference, Johnson said Newsom is keeping the Trump administration from implementing federal law. "He's standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law. He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He is a participant, an accomplice in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected, but assaulted," Johnson said. "This is a serious problem." Newsom quickly responded on social media. 'Good to know we're skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700's style forms of punishment. A fitting threat given the (Republicans) want to bring our country back to the 18th Century.' Johnson on Newsom lawsuit: 'What a joke' Johnson also criticized Newsom for filing a lawsuit against Trump for sending the California National Guard to Los Angeles over his objections. "What a joke," Johnson said. "Do your job, man." The House speaker also said protests can quickly get out of hand in large cities. "If local and state officials are unwilling or unable to do their job, the president of the United States will do his and we support that fully," Johnson said. The last time a president called in the National Guard over the objections of the state governor was in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to escort civil rights marchers participating in the Selma-Montgomery March in Alabama.