HERE IS SOME BIG NEWS

There have been some major developments in the fight against red light cameras in the past month. I want to give you a brief rundown on what’s happening.

1. Our Friend, Senator Jim Lemke (R, South County) introduced a bill to ban the cameras. Despite all of your calls and emails, it was defeated in committee.

2. Our friend, Brian Yates (R, Independence) introduced a bill in the house that would restrict the cameras in a way that the profit for private companies would disappear. This bill, HB 241, is still in committee. It has a better chance of getting through than SB211 did. I’ll tell you how you can help at the end of this email.

3. There is a federal racketeering case proceeding against the city of Arnold and its police chief over the cameras. A prominent local attorney, Chet Pleban, is on our side.

4. We have uncovered a memo from American Traffic Solutions’ legal counsel advising them that municipalities would be breaking Missouri law by not reporting points to the Department of Revenue. This has been sent to the press.

5. Last night, Senator Jim Lemke introduced an amendment to the Omnibus Transportation Bill which would restrict the cameras and take the profit out of them. It passed. WE MAY HAVE WON. I’m not counting on it, though. We need to keep up the pressure.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

These are the email addresses of the public safety committee, the people who can kill or pass HB 241.

Step 1: Start an email. Copy and paste this list of Addresses into the Bcc section. 

Mark.Bruns@house.mo.gov, Jeanie.Riddle@house.mo.gov , Michael.Corcoran@house.mo.gov , Scott.Dieckhaus@house.mo.gov , Thomas.Flanigan@house.mo.gov , Rochelle.Gray@house.mo.gov , Kenny.Jones@house.mo.gov , Tim.Meadows@house.mo.gov, Charlie.Norr@house.mo.gov,Jeff.Roorda@house.mo.gov , Bryan.Stevenson@house.mo.gov , Mike.Sutherland@house.mo.gov

Step 2: Paste in this message or type one of your own:

As a concerned citizen of Missouri, I urge you to support HB 241, which would establish statewide standards for the use of red light cameras. Some municipalities have already been caught shortening yellow light times to increase revenue from tickets. HB 241 would set a statewide standard for times and keep things honest. It would also make sure that the driver would be properly identified before a ticket could be issued. This would cut down on mistakes and help prosecute the real offender, not just the owner of the car. If these cameras are bing used for safety and not revenue, as their proponents claim, there should be no opposition to this common-sense bill. Please help regulate this out of control, unstandardized law-enforcement technology.

It’s especially important to call Tim Meadows (Arnold) and Charlie Norr (Springfield). If you only contact two people, make sure it’s one of these two.

DON’T TREAD ON ME

Don’t tread on me is an anti-red light camera group based in Arnold, MO. We have been working with them a lot in the past month. They are having a trivia night to raise money for the anti-camera cause. you can see all ht einformation here:

http://jeffco.net/TriviaNightAd.pdf

THANK YOU

For signing up to help rid Missouri of Illegal, unconstitutional photo law enforcement. I promise to keep you informed of what’s going on and let you know where you can help and when it will make the most difference. Give me a call if you have any questions, or want to get more involved.

-Jesse Irwin
314-775-5760