Correction: A prior version of this story identified Seitz as a state senator; while he was a senator at the time he helped write the traffic camera legislation, he is now a state representative. WCPO regrets this error.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio state representative who helped write the law restricting municipalities' use of traffic enforcement cameras calls the state Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday striking down that law a "pyrrhic victory" for home-rule cities and villages.
State. Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, says there are "other tools in the tool kit" the Legislature can use when it reconvenes in September. The law required that a police officer be present when a camera ticket is issued and established minimum speeds above the speed limit before a ticket can be issued.
Seitz says the Legislature could offset collections from cameras by reducing amounts cities and villages receive through the state’s local government fund.
He says the Legislature "will take the profit out of policing for profit" and that the victory for cities and villages will be short-lived.
