---
title: SB 172. Speed Detection Devices; all laws relative to enforcement of speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices; repeal
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb172
cite_as: SB 172, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb172
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb172.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb172/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70339
date: 2025-02-18
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb172.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 172
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-13
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Derek Mallow
  - Steve Gooch
  - Sam Watson
  - Nikki Merritt
  - Carden Summers
  - Sheikh Rahman
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB172/2025
upstream_id: 1970329
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - school zone speed cameras
  - traffic enforcement
  - school zones
  - local government contracts
  - speeding fines
---

# SB 172. Speed Detection Devices; all laws relative to enforcement of speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices; repeal

## Text

Senate Bill 172
By: Senators Mallow of the 2nd, Gooch of the 51st, Watson of the 11th, Merritt of the 9th,
Summers of the 13th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 14 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to speed detection devices, so as to repeal all laws relative to enforcement of
speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic enforcement safety
devices; to provide for conforming changes; to prohibit a local governing body or law
enforcement agency from entering into or renewing a contract that provides for enforcement
of laws relative to speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic
enforcement safety devices; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 2 of Chapter 14 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
speed detection devices, is amended by repealing Code Section 40-14-1.1, relating to
definitions.
SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended by repealing Code Section 40-14-1.2, relating to agent not
private investigator or subject to certain laws.
SECTION 3.
Said article is further amended in Code Section 40-14-2, relating to permit required for use,
use not authorized where officers paid on fee system, and operation by registered or certified
peace officers, by repealing subsection (c).
SECTION 4.
Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-5, relating to testing of radar
devices, removal of inaccurate radar devices from service, and maintenance of testing log
and independent calibration tests of automated traffic enforcement devices, as follows:
"40-14-5.
(a) Each state, county, municipal, or campus law enforcement officer using a radar device,
<del>except for an automated traffic enforcement safety device as provided for under Code
Section 40-14-18,</del> shall test the device for accuracy and record and maintain the results of
the test at the beginning and end of each duty tour. Each such test shall be made in
accordance with the manufacturer's recommended procedure. Any radar unit not meeting
the manufacturer's minimum accuracy requirements shall be removed from service and
thereafter shall not be used by the state, county, municipal, or campus law enforcement
agency until it has been serviced, calibrated, and recertified by a technician with the
qualifications specified in Code Section 40-14-4.
(b) Each county, municipal, or campus law enforcement officer using a radar device,
<del>except for an automated traffic enforcement safety device as provided for under Code
Section 40-14-18,</del> shall notify each person against whom the officer intends to make a case
based on the use of the radar device that <del>the</del> <ins>such</ins> person has a right to request the officer
to test the radar device for accuracy. The notice shall be given prior to the time a citation
and complaint or ticket is issued against the person and, if requested to make a test, the
officer shall test the radar device for accuracy. In the event the radar device does not meet
the minimum accuracy requirements, the citation and complaint or ticket shall not be issued
against the person, and the radar device shall be removed from service and thereafter shall
not be used by the county, municipal, or campus law enforcement agency until it has been
serviced, calibrated, and recertified by a technician with the qualifications specified in
Code Section 40-14-4.
<del>(c)(1) The law enforcement agency, or agent on behalf of the law enforcement agency,
operating an automated traffic enforcement safety device provided for under Code
Section 40-14-18 shall maintain a log for the automated traffic enforcement safety device
attesting to the performance of such device's self-test at least once every 30 days and the
results of such self-test pertaining to the accuracy of the automated traffic enforcement
safety device. Such log shall be admissible in any court proceeding for a violation issued
pursuant to Code Section 40-14-18.
(2) The law enforcement agency, or agent on behalf of the law enforcement agency,
operating an automated traffic enforcement safety device shall perform an independent
calibration test on the automated traffic enforcement safety device at least once every 12
months. The results of such calibration test shall be admissible in any court proceeding
for a violation issued pursuant to Code Section 40-14-18."
</del> SECTION 5.
Said article is further amended in Code Section 40-14-6, relating to warning signs required
and signage requirements, by repealing subsection (c).
SECTION 6.
Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-7, relating to visibility of
vehicle from which device is operated, as follows:
"40-14-7.
<del>Except as provided for in Code Section 40-14-18, no</del> <ins>No</ins> stationary speed detection device
shall be employed by county, municipal, college, or university law enforcement officers
where the vehicle from which <del>the</del> <ins>such</ins> device is operated is obstructed from the view of
approaching motorists or is otherwise not visible for a distance of at least 500 feet."
SECTION 7.
Said article is further amended in Code Section 40-14-11, relating to investigations by
commissioner of public safety, issuance of order suspending or revoking permit, and ratio
of speeding fines to agency's budget, by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a law enforcement agency is employing
speed detection devices for purposes other than the promotion of the public health, welfare,
and safety if the fines levied based on the use of speed detection devices for speeding
offenses are equal to or greater than 35 percent of a municipal or county law enforcement
agency's budget. For purposes of this Code section, fines collected for citations issued for
violations of Code Section 40-6-180 shall be included when calculating total speeding fine
revenue for the agency; provided, however, that fines for speeding violations exceeding 20
miles per hour over the established speed limit <del>and civil monetary penalties for speeding
violations issued pursuant to Code Section 40-14-18</del> shall not be considered when
calculating total speeding fine revenue for <del>the</del> <ins>such</ins> agency."
SECTION 8.
Said article is further amended by repealing Code Section 40-14-18, relating to enforcement
of speed limit in school zones with recorded images, civil monetary penalty, and
consequences for failure to pay penalty.
SECTION 9.
Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"40-14-19.
(a) No contract shall be entered into or renewed by a local governing body or law
enforcement agency for the enforcement of speeding violations in a school zone through
the use of an automated traffic enforcement safety device on or after the effective date of
this Code section.
(b) This Code section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2026."
</ins> SECTION 10.
(a) Except as otherwise provided for in subsection (b) of this section, this Act shall become
effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.
(b) Sections 1 through 8 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026.
SECTION 11.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia Senate bill would eliminate the state law allowing automated speed cameras in school zones and bar local governments and police from entering new camera enforcement contracts starting immediately, with the repeal of underlying camera laws taking effect July 1, 2026.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law currently lets local governments and police use automated traffic cameras to catch and fine drivers speeding in school zones, under a system set out in O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18 and related sections. This bill would repeal that entire framework, including the definitions of these camera systems, the rule that camera operators aren't private investigators, testing and calibration log requirements for the cameras, and the rule limiting how the school zone camera fines count toward a 35 percent cap on an agency's speeding-fine revenue.
The bill also adds a new Code section immediately banning local governments or police agencies from signing new contracts, or renewing existing ones, for school zone camera enforcement. That contract ban would itself expire on July 1, 2026, the same date the broader repeal of the camera law takes effect, meaning the underlying legal authority for these cameras would be gone by then regardless.

### What it does

- Repeals Code Section 40-14-18, the law that lets local governments use camera systems to issue civil fines for school zone speeding.
- Repeals the definitions section and the provision saying camera operators are not private investigators under Georgia law.
- Removes the requirements that agencies log camera self-tests every 30 days and perform independent calibration tests every 12 months.
- Immediately bans local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering new or renewed contracts for school zone camera enforcement, a ban that itself expires July 1, 2026.
- Removes the exclusion that let school zone camera fines and locations bypass certain visibility and revenue-cap rules that apply to other speed detection devices.
- Sets most of the repeal to take effect July 1, 2026, while the contract ban and effective-date provisions take effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill.

### Who it affects

Local governments and police departments that currently operate school zone speed cameras, private companies that contract with local governments to run these camera systems, and drivers who are ticketed for school zone speeding through automated cameras rather than an officer's radar device.

### Why it matters

If enacted, Georgia communities would lose the option to use automated cameras to catch school zone speeders, shifting enforcement back to traditional radar-based police stops. Local governments that rely on camera fine revenue or existing vendor contracts would need to unwind those arrangements before July 2026.

### Key provisions

- Sections 1 through 3 repeal the definitions, the private-investigator exemption, and a permit provision tied to automated school zone cameras.
- Section 4 removes camera-specific testing and calibration logging requirements from the radar accuracy testing law (O.C.G.A. § 40-14-5).
- Section 7 removes the exclusion of school zone camera civil penalties from the calculation of a law enforcement agency's total speeding fine revenue.
- Section 8 repeals Code Section 40-14-18 outright, eliminating the legal basis for school zone camera enforcement and civil penalties.
- Section 9 adds a new Code Section 40-14-19 immediately barring new or renewed camera enforcement contracts, a ban that expires July 1, 2026.
- Section 10 makes the contract ban and administrative provisions effective upon the Governor's signature, but delays the repeal of Sections 1 through 8 until July 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-13)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-18)
- Sponsors: Derek Mallow, Steve Gooch, Sam Watson, Nikki Merritt, Carden Summers, Sheikh Rahman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70339

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb172.md?full=1