SB172: SB172 Speed Detection Devices; all laws relative to enforcement of speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices; repeal

Georgia currently allows cities and counties to use automated traffic enforcement cameras to catch and fine speeding drivers in school zones, under Code Section 40-14-18. This bill would repeal that authority along with related definitions and rules about how those camera systems are tested and calibrated. The repeal of the camera enforcement law and related provisions would take effect July 1, 2026. In the meantime, the bill immediately bars local governments and police agencies from entering into or renewing any contract for school zone camera enforcement, though that ban itself expires on July 1, 2026, once the underlying camera law is gone anyway. The bill also removes camera-specific exceptions from rules on radar device visibility and testing, and updates how speeding fine revenue is calculated once camera penalties disappear.

• Repeals Code Section 40-14-18, which currently lets local governments use automated cameras to issue civil penalties for school zone speeding.
• Repeals the definitions section (40-14-1.1) and the provision saying camera operators are not private investigators (40-14-1.2) tied to camera enforcement.
• Immediately bars any local government or law enforcement agency from signing or renewing a school zone camera enforcement contract, though this ban expires July 1, 2026.
• Removes school zone camera exceptions from radar device visibility rules (40-14-7) and signage requirements (40-14-6).
• Updates the formula for calculating whether a police agency relies too heavily on speeding fines, once camera penalty revenue is no longer counted.
• Sets most repeals to take effect July 1, 2026, while the contract ban and other conforming changes apply as soon as the Governor signs the bill.

Local governments and police agencies that operate school zone speed cameras, drivers who currently receive camera-issued citations near schools, and companies that contract with municipalities to run these camera systems.

Drivers in Georgia school zones would no longer face camera-issued speeding tickets after July 1, 2026, changing how those areas are policed. Cities and counties that rely on camera fine revenue would lose that funding source, and any existing camera vendor contracts could not be renewed once the ban and repeal take hold.

• Section 1 and 2 repeal the definitions (40-14-1.1) and the rule exempting camera operators from private investigator laws (40-14-1.2).
• Section 4 rewrites testing rules in 40-14-5, keeping self-test and calibration logging requirements for cameras only until the section's later repeal.
• Section 7 revises 40-14-11 so that fines from camera-issued citations are excluded when calculating an agency's speeding fine revenue ratio.
• Section 8 repeals 40-14-18 itself, the core law authorizing school zone camera enforcement and its civil penalties.
• Section 9 adds new Code Section 40-14-19, immediately banning new or renewed school zone camera contracts, but this section repeals itself on July 1, 2026.
• Section 10 sets most of the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature, except Sections 1 through 8, which take effect July 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-13Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)Primary sponsor
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)

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