Vermont S 155: An act relating to the creation of the Agency of Public Safety

Bill Text

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VT LEG #381892 v.1
S.155 1
Introduced by Senators Gulick, Brock, Chittenden, Hardy, Lyons, Major, 2
Plunkett, Weeks and White 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Motor vehicles; traffic enforcement; traffic violations; moving 6
violations; automated law enforcement; traffic cameras; automated 7
license plate recognition systems; automated traffic law enforcement 8
systems 9
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to authorize 10
municipal law enforcement agencies to utilize automated traffic law 11
enforcement in municipal work zones and at locations with an increased 12
incidence of crashes or speeding, or both until July 1, 2027. 13
An act relating to the use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE) 14
systems by municipalities 15
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 16
Sec. 1. PURPOSE 17
The purpose of this act is to improve municipal work crew safety and 18
reduce traffic crashes by enabling municipal law enforcement agencies to 19

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participate in the automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE) pilot program 1
established by 2024 Acts and Resolves No. 135. 2
Sec. 2. 23 V.S.A. § 1606 is amended to read: 3
§ 1606. AUTOMATED TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS; 4
SPEEDING 5
(a) Use. Deployment of ATLE systems on behalf of the Agency of 6
Transportation or a municipal law enforcement agency by a third party 7
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section is intended to investigate the benefits 8
of automated law enforcement for speeding violations as a way to improve 9
work crew safety and reduce traffic crashes resulting from an increased 10
adherence to traffic laws achieved by effective deterrence of potential 11
violators, which could not be achieved by traditional law enforcement methods 12
or traffic calming measures, or both. Deployment of ATLE systems on behalf 13
of the Agency and municipal law enforcement agencies is not intended to 14
replace law enforcement personnel, nor is it intended to mitigate problems 15
caused by deficient road design, construction, or maintenance. 16
(b) Vendor. 17
* * * 18
(2) A municipal law enforcement agency may enter into a contract with 19
a third party for the operation and deployment of ATLE systems on behalf of 20
the municipal law enforcement agency. 21

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(3) The Agency or a municipal law enforcement agency, in consultation 1
with the Department of Public Safety, may require the vendor to maintain a 2
storage system to store any recorded images or other data collected by the 3
ATLE system. Any storage system shall adhere to the use, retention, and 4
limitation requirements pursuant to this section. 5
(c) Locations. An ATLE system may only be utilized: 6
(1) at a location in the vicinity of a work zone that is located on either a 7
limited-access highway under the jurisdiction of the Agency of Transportation 8
and that is selected by the Agency or on a highway within the jurisdiction of a 9
municipal law enforcement agency that is selected by the law enforcement 10
agency, provided that: 11
(1)(A)(i) for a location selected by the Agency of Transportation, the 12
Agency shall document through an appropriate engineering analysis that the 13
location meets highway standards; or 14
(ii) for a location selected by a municipal law enforcement agency, 15
the municipal law enforcement agency shall confirm through an appropriate 16
engineering analysis that the location meets highway standards; 17
(2)(B) the ATLE system is not used as a means of combating 18
deficiencies in roadway design or environment; 19

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(3)(C) at least two signs notifying members of the traveling public of the 1
use of an ATLE system are in place before any recorded images or other data 2
is collected by the ATLE system; 3
(4)(D) there is a sign at the end of the work zone; 4
(5)(E) the ATLE system is only in operation when workers are present 5
in the work zone and at least one of the signs required under subdivision (3) of 6
this subsection (c) indicates whether the ATLE system is currently in 7
operation; and 8
(6)(F) there is notice of the use of the ATLE system on the Agency’s 9
website or, for a municipal work zone, on the Agency’s and municipality’s 10
websites, including the location and typical hours when workers are present 11
and the ATLE system is in operation; and 12
(2) at additional locations with a high incidence of crashes or speeding, 13
or both, if the municipal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the 14
location determines, in its sole discretion, that it may be impractical or unsafe 15
to utilize traditional law enforcement methods or that the use of traditional law 16
enforcement personnel has failed to deter violators, provided that: 17
(A) the municipal law enforcement agency confirm