HB225: HB225 Motor vehicles; enforcement of speeding violations in school zones through automated traffic enforcement safety devices; repeal all laws

Georgia law currently allows local governments and law enforcement agencies to use automated traffic enforcement safety devices, essentially speed cameras, to catch and ticket drivers speeding in school zones under O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18. This bill repeals that authorization along with related definitions, agent rules, and signage requirements written specifically for these camera programs. The repeal of the core camera law and its supporting sections does not take effect immediately; it is delayed until July 1, 2028. In the meantime, the bill immediately bars local governments and police agencies from signing new contracts or renewing existing contracts for school zone camera enforcement on or after July 1, 2027. That new prohibition itself expires on July 1, 2028, once the underlying camera law is gone. The bill also updates related radar testing and speeding-fine calculation rules to remove references to the camera program.

• Repeals O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18, the law that lets law enforcement use automated camera devices to ticket speeding drivers in school zones.
• Repeals related definitions (§ 40-14-1.1), agent status rules (§ 40-14-1.2), and a signage subsection (§ 40-14-6(c)) tied to the camera program.
• Bars any local government or law enforcement agency from entering into or renewing a school zone camera enforcement contract on or after July 1, 2027.
• Rewrites radar testing rules (§ 40-14-5) and vehicle visibility rules (§ 40-14-7) to remove references to automated camera devices once they are phased out.
• Updates the speeding-fine budget ratio rule (§ 40-14-11) to stop excluding camera penalties from the calculation once the camera law ends.
• Delays the main repeal (Sections 1 through 8) until July 1, 2028, while the new contract ban takes effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill.

Local governments and police departments that currently run or contract out school zone speed camera programs, private vendors that operate these camera systems under contract, and drivers who travel through school zones where cameras are installed.

School zone speed cameras have generated tickets and revenue for many Georgia cities and counties. This bill would phase out that enforcement tool entirely by mid-2028, cutting off new contracts starting in 2027, which would end automated ticketing in school zones and remove a funding source some agencies rely on.

• Section 1 and 2 repeal the definitions and agent-status provisions (§§ 40-14-1.1, 40-14-1.2) specific to automated traffic enforcement.
• Section 3 removes a subsection of § 40-14-2 tied to automated device permits.
• Section 4 rewrites § 40-14-5's testing requirements, removing the self-test and calibration log rules for automated devices once they are phased out.
• Section 5 repeals the signage subsection of § 40-14-6 that applied to camera devices.
• Section 6 rewrites § 40-14-7's visibility rule for stationary speed devices, removing the carve-out for automated cameras.
• Section 7 revises § 40-14-11 so camera-issued fines are no longer excluded from the 35 percent budget ratio test used to flag agencies over-relying on speeding fines.
• Section 8 repeals § 40-14-18, the core law authorizing school zone camera enforcement and its civil penalties.
• Section 9 adds new § 40-14-19, banning new or renewed camera enforcement contracts starting July 1, 2027; that new section repeals itself on July 1, 2028.

1. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
2. 2025-04-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
3. 2025-04-04Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
4. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senate)
5. 2025-03-31Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-03-28Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
8. 2025-03-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)

• Dale Washburn (R, HD-144)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   129 yea, 37 nay (3 not voting, 11 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #169

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   46 yea, 9 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #455

• school zone speed cameras
• traffic enforcement
• school safety
• local government contracts
• speeding fines