Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga (center) and Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis (left) and Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, promote their "Freedom from Traffic Cameras Act."
A traffic camera is used to ticket speeders on Barton Avenue.NASHVILLE - Sen. Todd Gardenhire and an unlikely coalition of colleagues think this is the year they can get a green light on a legislative bill banning red-light and speed cameras in Tennessee.
The conservative Chattanooga Republican joined in a news conference today with a self-described "liberal" Senate Democrat, Lee Harris of Memphis, and a rural Republican, Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden to promote their "Tennessee Freedom from Traffic Cameras Act."
The measure is scheduled to come up in Senate and House transportation panels on Wednesday.
"I know that the people in my district are overwhelmingly in favor and they don't like the fact that they can't face their accusers in court," Gardenhire said.
Holt said the bill's prospects look "pretty favorable" this year.
Officials from Chattanooga and other cities and towns argue the cameras promote safety. Critics point to the large amounts of revenue it generates not just for municipalities but for the camera vendors that operate them.
Gardenhire charged some cities have shortened the length of yellow lights, forcing motorists to make last minute-decisions between running through a light or risking getting rear-ended.
In 2011, lawmakers passed a law prohibiting local governments and their vendors from issuing tickets to "any vehicle that legally entered the intersection during the green or yellow intervals." It also requires "appropriate signage" informing drivers of the unmanned surveillance cameras are located not less than 500 feet from cameras or more than 1,000 feet.
Gardenhire said the signage requirement wasn't initially met in at least one instance in Chattanooga.
In years past, former state Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, and former Rep. Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, fended off outright bans on traffic cameras and shaped the laws governing their use.