PRINTER'S NO. 4894
No. 3069 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY KENNEY, OCTOBER 24, 2006
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, OCTOBER 24, 2006
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, providing for automated speed timing systems in
3 first class cities; and establishing the Roosevelt Boulevard
4 Pedestrian Bridge Fund.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
8 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
9 § 3369. Automated speed timing systems in first class cities.
10 (a) General rule.--
11 (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), a
12 city of the first class, upon passage of an ordinance, is
13 authorized to enforce section 3362 (relating to maximum speed
14 limits) by recording violations using an automated speed
15 timing system approved by the department, which may include
16 electronic devices such as radio-microwave devices, commonly
17 referred to as electronic speed meters or radar, otherwise
18 restricted to use by members of the Pennsylvania State Police
1 pursuant to section 3368(c) (relating to speed timing
2 devices).
3 (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), this
4 section shall only be applicable at State and local highways
5 in a city of the first class agreed upon by the system
6 administrator and the secretary.
7 (b) Emergency implementation.--The system administrator and
8 the secretary shall implement an automated speed timing system
9 at locations deemed necessary for public safety on U.S. Route 1
10 (Roosevelt Boulevard) between Broad Street and the Philadelphia
11 County line shared with Bucks County without need of an
12 ordinance under subsection (a)(1).
13 (c) Owner liability.--For each violation pursuant to this
14 section, the owner of the vehicle shall be liable for the
15 penalty imposed unless the owner is convicted of the same
16 violation under another section of this title or has a defense
17 under subsection (g).
18 (d) Certificate as evidence.--A certificate, or a facsimile
19 of a certificate, based upon inspection of photographs produced
20 by an automated speed timing system and sworn to or affirmed by
21 a police officer employed by the city of the first class or a
22 member of the Pennsylvania State Police shall be prima facie
23 evidence of the facts contained in it. The system administrator
24 must include written documentation that the automated speed
25 timing system was operating correctly at the time of the alleged
26 violation. A photograph evidencing a violation of section 3362
27 shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding
28 to adjudicate the liability for the violation.
29 (e) Penalty.--
30 (1) The penalty for a violation under subsections (a)
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1 and (b) shall be a fine of:
2 (i) $125, if the speed recorded is six to ten miles
3 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
4 (ii) $150, if the speed recorded is 11 to 15 miles
5 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
6 (iii) $200, if the speed recorded is 16 to 20 miles
7 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
8 (iv) $300, if the speed recorded is 21 to 25 miles
9 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
10 (v) $400, if the speed recorded is 25 to 30 miles
11 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
12 (vi) $500, if the speed recorded is 31 or more miles
13 per hour in excess of the legal speed limit.
14 (2) A fine is not authorized during the first 30 days of
15 operation of the automated system at each location.
16 (3) A warning may be sent to the violator under
17 paragraph (2).
18 (4) A penalty imposed under this section shall not be
19 deemed a criminal conviction and shall not be made part of
20 the operating record under section 1535 (relating to schedule
21 of convictions and points) of the individual upon whom the
22 penalty is imposed, nor may the imposition of the penalty be
23 subject to merit rating for insurance purposes.
24 (5) No surcharge points may be imposed in the provision
25 of motor vehicle insurance coverage. Fines collected under
26 this section shall not be subject to 42 Pa.C.S. § 3571
27 (relating to Commonwealth portions of fines, etc.) or 3573
28 (relating to municipal corporation portion of fines, etc.).
29 (6) No person may be found liable upon evidence obtained
30 through the use of devices authorized by this section unless
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1 the speed recorded is six or more miles per hour in excess of
2 the legal speed limit.
3 (f) Enforcement.--
4 (1) As part of a system to collect fines issued pursuant
5 to this section and remaining in an unpaid or uncontested
6 status after the applicable due date, the system
7 administrator may assess reasonable fees, including late
8 fees, as follows:
9 (i) $100 for fines unpaid or uncontested for a
10 period of 15 days after the date listed on the citation.
11 (ii) $125 for fines unpaid or uncontested for a
12 period of 30 days after the date listed on the citation.
13 (iii) $150 for fines unpaid or uncontested for a
14 period of 45 days after the date listed on the citation.
15 (iv) $200 for fines unpaid or uncontested for a
16 period of 60 days after the date listed on the citation.
17 (2) In addition to the penalties otherwise provided in
18 this section, fines issued pursuant to this section and
19 remaining in an unpaid or uncontested status for 30 or more
20 days after the applicable due date may subject the vehicle or
21 combination to immobilization and impoundment by the system
22 administrator. In the event of such immobilization and
23 impoundment the system administrator shall tow and store the
24 vehicle or combination and provide notice by first class
25 mail, proof of mailing, of the towing, storage and location
26 of the vehicle or combination to the owner and the lienholder
27 of the vehicle or combination using a reasonably available
28 State database. The owner or lienholder of any vehicle or
29 combination which has been towed and stored under this
30 section may obtain possession of the vehicle or combination
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1 by:
2 (i) furnishing proof of valid registration and
3 financial responsibility; and
4 (ii) paying all fines and costs associated with the
5 towing and storage of the vehicle or combination and
6 fines associated with citations issued pursuant to this
7 section or otherwise due to the system administrator or
8 City of Philadelphia related to violations of any local
9 parking regulation or ordinance or applicable section of
10 this chapter or Chapter 61 (relating to powers of
11 department and local authorities).
12 (3) Any vehicle or combination not recovered under this
13 subsection may be sold as an unclaimed vehicle, combination
14 or load under section 6310 (relating to disposition of
15 impounded vehicles, combinations and loads). The proceeds of
16 the sale shall be applied to the payment of the fines and
17 costs associated with the towing and storage of the vehicle.
18 (g) Limitations.--
19 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, camera
20 equipment deployed as part of an automated speed timing
21 system as provided in this section must be incapable of
22 automated or user-controlled remote intersection surveillance
23 by means of recorded video images. Photographs collected as
24 part of the automated speed timing system must only record
25 traffic violations and may not be used for any other
26 surveillance purposes. The restrictions set forth in this
27 paragraph shall not be deemed to preclude a court of
28 competent jurisdiction from issuing an order directing that
29 the information be provided to law enforcement officials if
30 the information is reasonably described and is requested
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1 solely in connection with a criminal law enforcement action.
2 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
3 information prepared under this section and information
4 relating to violations under this section which is kept by
5 the city of the first class, its authorized agents or its
6 employees, including photographs, written records, reports or
7 facsimiles, names, addresses and the number of violations
8 under this section, shall be for the exclusive use of the
9 city, its authorized agents, its employees and law
10 enforcement officials for the purpose of discharging their
11 duties under this section and under any ordinances and
12 resolutions of the city. The information shall not be deemed
13 a public record under the act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390,
14 No.212), referred to as the Right-to-Know Law, except as to
15 statistical information related to the operation of the
16 automated speed timing system. The information shall not be
17 discoverable by court order or otherwise, nor shall it be
18 offered in evidence in any action or proceeding which is not
19 directly related to a violation of this section or any
20 ordinance or resolution of the city. The restrictions set
21 forth in this paragraph shall not be deemed to preclude a
22 court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order
23 directing that the information be provided to law enforcement
24 officials if the information is reasonably described and is
25 requested solely in connection with a criminal law
26 enforcement action.
27 (3) Photographic evidence obtained through the use of
28 automated speed timing systems deployed as a means of
29 promoting traffic safety in a city of the first class shall
30 be destroyed within one year of final disposition of any
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1 recorded event. The city or the system administrator, as the
2 case may be, shall file notice with the Department of State
3 that the records have been destroyed in accordance with this
4 section.
5 (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
6 registered vehicle owner information obtained as a result of
7 the operation of an automated speed timing system under this
8 section shall not be the property of the manufacturer or
9 vendor of the automated speed timing system and may not be
10 used for any purpose other than prescribed in this section.
11 (h) Defenses.--
12 (1) It shall be a defense to a violation under this
13 section that the person named in the notice of the violation
14 was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation.
15 The owner may be required to submit evidence that the owner
16 was not the driver at the time of the alleged violation. The
17 city of the first class may not require the owner of the
18 vehicle to disclose the identity of the operator of the
19 vehicle at the time of the violation.
20 (2) If an owner receives a notice of violation pursuant
21 to this section of a time period during which the vehicle was
22 reported to a police department of any state or municipality
23 as having been stolen, it shall be a defense to a violation
24 pursuant to this section that the vehicle has been reported
25 to a police department as stolen prior to the time the
26 violation occurred and had not been recovered prior to that
27 time.
28 (3) It shall be a defense to a violation under this
29 section that the person receiving the notice of violation was
30 not the owner of the vehicle at the time of the offense.
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1 (i) Department approval.--No automated speed timing system
2 may be used without the approval of the department, which shall
3 have the authority to promulgate regulations for the
4 certification and use of such systems.
5 (j) Postings.--An automated speed timing system may not be
6 used unless there is posted an appropriate sign in a conspicuous
7 place before the area in which the automated speed timing system
8 is to be used notifying the public that an automated speed
9 timing system is in use immediately ahead.
10 (k) System administrator.--The Philadelphia Parking
11 Authority shall be the system administrator as to any automated
12 speed timing system implemented in a city of the first class.
13 The following apply:
14 (1) The system administrator may hire and designate
15 personnel as necessary or contract for services to implement
16 this section.
17 (2) The system administrator shall process fines issued
18 pursuant to this section.
19 (3) The system administrator shall file an annual report
20 to the chairman and the minority chairman of the
21 Transportation Committee of the Senate and the chairman and
22 minority chairman of the Transportation Committee of the
23 House of Representatives. The report shall include for the
24 prior year:
25 (i) The number of violations and fines issued.
26 (ii) A compilation of fines paid and outstanding.
27 (iii) The amount of money paid to a vendor or
28 manufacturer under this section.
29 (l) Notice to owner.--
30 (1) The system administrator shall prepare a notice of
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1 violation to the registered owner of a vehicle identified in
2 a photograph produced by an automated speed timing system as
3 evidence of a violation of section 3362. The issuance of the
4 notice of violation must be completed by a Pennsylvania State
5 trooper or police officer employed by the police department
6 with primary jurisdiction over the area where the violation
7 occurred. The notice of violation shall have attached to it a
8 copy of the recorded image showing the vehicle; the
9 registration number and state of issuance of the vehicle
10 registration; the date, time and place of the alleged
11 violation; that the violation charged is under section 3362;
12 and instructions for return of the notice of violation. The
13 text of the notice must be as follows:
14 This notice shall be returned personally, by mail or
15 by an agent duly authorized in writing, within 30
16 days of issuance. A hearing may be obtained upon the
17 written request of the registered owner.
18 (2) In the case of a violation involving a motor vehicle
19 registered under the laws of this Commonwealth, the notice of
20 violation must be mailed within 30 days after the commission
21 of the violation or within 30 days after the discovery of the
22 identity of the registered owner, whichever is later, and not
23 thereafter to the address of the registered owner as listed
24 in the records of the department. In the case of motor
25 vehicles registered in jurisdictions other than this
26 Commonwealth, the notice of violation must be mailed within
27 30 days after the discovery of the identity of the registered
28 owner, whichever is later, and not thereafter to the address
29 of the registered owner as listed in the records of the
30 official in the jurisdiction having charge of the
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1 registration of the vehicle. A notice of violation under this
2 section must be provided to an owner within 90 days of the
3 commission of the offense.
4 (m) Mailing of notice and records.--Notice of violation must
5 be sent by first class mail. A manual or automatic record of
6 mailing prepared by the system administrator in the ordinary
7 course of business shall be prima facie evidence of mailing and
8 shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding
9 as to the facts contained in it.
10 (n) Payment of fee.--
11 (1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
12 issued may admit responsibility for the violation and pay the
13 fine provided in the notice.
14 (2) Payment must be made personally, through an
15 authorized agent or by mailing both payment and the notice of
16 violation to the system administrator. Payment by mail must
17 be made only by money order, credit card or check made
18 payable to the system administrator.
19 (3) The system administrator shall remit the fine, less
20 the operational and maintenance costs of the system
21 administrator and, if necessary, the city, necessitated by
22 this section, to the department for deposit into a fund to be
23 titled the Roosevelt Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge Fund, which
24 is hereby established as a separate fund in the State
25 Treasury. Fines deposited in the fund under this paragraph
26 shall be used by the department to develop, by regulation, a
27 Roosevelt Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge Grant Program, which
28 shall promptly fund a study to determine the locations in
29 most need of pedestrian bridges to provide safe pedestrian
30 passage across Roosevelt Boulevard between Broad Street and
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1 the Philadelphia County line shared with Bucks County, and to
2 fund the construction and continuing maintenance of such
3 bridges.
4 (4) Payment of the established fine and applicable
5 penalties shall operate as a final disposition of the case.
6 (o) Hearing.--
7 (1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
8 issued may, within 30 days of the mailing of the notice,
9 request a hearing to contest the liability alleged in the
10 notice. A hearing request must be made by appearing before
11 the system administrator during regular office hours either
12 personally or by an authorized agent or by mailing a request
13 in writing.
14 (2) Upon receipt of a hearing request, the system
15 administrator shall in a timely manner schedule the matter
16 before a hearing officer. In the event the hearing relates to
17 a violation issued pursuant to this section and the city of
18 the first class has not passed an ordinance pursuant to
19 subsection (a), the hearing officer shall be appointed by the
20 system administrator; otherwise the hearing officer shall be
21 designated by the city of the first class. Written notice of
22 the date, time and place of hearing must be sent by first
23 class mail to the owner.
24 (3) The system administrator shall be considered a local
25 agency for the purposes of 2 Pa.C.S. Chs. 5 (relating to
26 practice and procedure) and 7 (relating to judicial review),
27 except that the provisions of 2 Pa.C.S. § 555 (relating to
28 contents and service of adjudications) requiring that hearing
29 determinations contain findings and reasons for the
30 determination shall not be applicable. The system
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1 administrator and a city of the first class shall not be
2 required to issue a formal decision containing findings and
3 reasons for the hearing decision.
4 (4) The hearing shall be informal; the rules of evidence
5 shall not apply; and the decision of the hearing officer
6 shall be final, subject to the right of the owner to appeal
7 the decision to the traffic court.
8 (5) If the owner requests in writing that the decision
9 of the hearing officer be appealed to the traffic court, the
10 system administrator shall file the notice of violation and
11 supporting documents with the traffic court, which shall hear
12 and decide the matter de novo.
13 (p) Compensation to manufacturer or vendor.--If an automated
14 speed timing system is deployed in a city of the first class as
15 a means of promoting traffic safety and the enforcement of the
16 traffic laws of this Commonwealth or the city, the compensation
17 paid to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated speed timing
18 system may not be based upon the number of traffic citations
19 issued or a portion or percentage of the fine generated by the
20 citations. The compensation paid to the manufacturer or vendor
21 of the equipment shall be based upon the value of the equipment
22 and the services provided or rendered in support of the
23 automated speed timing system.
24 (q) Revenue limitation.--A city of the first class may not
25 collect an amount equal to or greater than 5% of its annual
26 budget from the collection of revenue from the issuance and
27 payment of violations under this section.
28 (r) Expiration.--This section shall expire December 31,
29 2010.
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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