07 LC
35 0568
House
Bill 699
By:
Representative Day of the
163rd
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
create and establish the "Georgia Law Enforcement Tuition and Training Act"; to
amend Article 3 of Chapter 14 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to traffic-control signal monitoring devices, so as to make
substantial revisions to provisions relating to traffic-control signal
monitoring devices; to provide regulation of the use of traffic-control signal
monitoring devices by the Department of Public Safety; to create and establish
the "Law Enforcement Tuition Trust Fund"; to provide for related matters; to
provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
This
Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Law Enforcement Tuition and
Training Act."
SECTION
2.
Article
3 of Chapter 14 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to traffic-control signal monitoring devices, is amended by revising Code
Section 40-14-21, relating to the use of such devices, as follows:
"40-14-21.
(a)
The law enforcement agency of any county or municipality shall not use
traffic-control signal monitoring devices unless the chief law enforcement
officer of such county or municipality desires the use of such devices and such
use is approved by the governing authority of the county or municipality. The
governing authority of the county or municipality shall conduct a public hearing
on the proposed use of such devices prior to entering any contract on or after
July 1, 2001, for the use or purchase of such devices.
(b)
A county or municipal law enforcement agency may use a traffic-control signal
monitoring device only if the sheriff, police chief, or the municipal or county
governing authority shall receive from the Department of Public Safety a permit
to use such device in accordance with this article. An agency shall have a
separate permit for each such intersection where such device or devices shall be
used. The Department of Public Safety is authorized to prescribe by rules and
regulations the manner and procedure in which an application shall be made for
such permits and to prescribe the required information to be submitted by an
applicant; provided, however, that an application shall at a minimum contain the
following information:
(1)
The name of the agency utilizing the device;
(2)
The person or persons responsible for testing the device or devices pursuant to
Code Section 40-14-22;
(3)
An original or certified copy of the record reflecting the formal approval by
the governing authority;
(4)
The location where each traffic-control signal monitoring device shall be
utilized; and
(5)
For each intersection where a device shall be used, a statement of need
indicating the number of fatalities due to accidents occurring at the
intersection in the previous three or more years.
(c)
Permits shall be renewed every two years, and the information required in the
application shall be updated as required by the Department of Public Safety.
The updated application shall also include the information required to be
provided to elected officials in Code Section 40-14-24. No permit to operate a
traffic-control signal monitoring device shall be renewed if the department
determines that a traffic-control signal monitoring device is being utilized for
purposes other than public safety.
(d)
The Department of Public Safety is authorized to charge an application fee for
each application, including a renewal application, in an amount not to exceed
$200.00, and for each permit granted, a monitoring fee, in an amount not to
exceed $1,000.00 a year, to cover the costs of the department to verify
compliance with the provisions of this article.
(e)
Upon receipt of a complaint regarding the use of a traffic-control signal
monitoring device, the Department of Public Safety shall be authorized to
investigate any agency, department, or governing authority, and the agency,
department, or governing authority under investigation shall cooperate with the
department and provide, free of charge, any records relevant to the
investigation which are requested by the Department of Public
Safety.
(b)(f)
No county or municipal governing authority shall be authorized to use
traffic-control signal monitoring devices where any arresting officer or
official of the court having jurisdiction of traffic cases is paid on a fee
system. This subsection shall not apply to any official receiving a recording
fee.
(c)(g)
If a county or municipality elects to use traffic-control signal monitoring
devices, no portion of any civil monetary penalty collected through the use of
such devices may be paid to the manufacturer or vendor of the traffic-control
signal monitoring devices. The compensation paid by the county or municipality
for such devices shall be based on the value of such equipment and shall not be
based on the number of citations issued or the revenue generated by such
devices.
(d)(h)(1)
A traffic-control signal monitoring device shall not be used by a law
enforcement agency unless the law enforcement agency employs at least one
full-time certified peace officer.
(2)
Failure of a law enforcement agency to continue to meet the standards provided
by this subsection shall cause such agency to be ineligible to use
traffic-control signal monitoring devices.
(e)(i)
A traffic-control signal monitoring device shall not be used to produce any
photograph, microphotograph, electronic image, or videotape showing the identity
of any person in a motor vehicle.
(j)
No agency, department, or governing authority shall collect fines, fees, costs,
or issue criminal or civil penalties based on any evidence collected from the
operation of a traffic-control signal monitoring device where the device is
being operated without a valid permit issued by the Department of Public
Safety."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-22, relating to timing
of traffic-control signal monitoring devices, as follows:
"40-14-22.
(a)
The timing of any traffic-control signal which is being monitored by a
traffic-control signal monitoring device shall conform to regulations
promulgated by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Code Section
32-6-50. Each county or municipal law enforcement agency using a
traffic-control signal monitoring device shall at its own expense test the
device for accuracy at regular intervals and record and maintain the results of
each test. Such test results shall be public records subject to inspection as
provided by Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. Each such test shall be made
in accordance with the manufacturer´s recommended procedure. Any such
device not meeting the manufacturer´s minimum accuracy requirements shall
be removed from service and thereafter shall not be used by the county or
municipal law enforcement agency until it has been serviced and calibrated at
the expense of the law enforcement agency by a qualified
technician.
(b)
Traffic-control signal monitoring devices shall be tested as required in this
Code section no less than twice a year, and a copy of the record of such test
reports shall be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety within ten
business days following the testing of the device or
devices."
SECTION
4.
Said
article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-23, relating to use of
signs to notify motorists of traffic-control signal monitoring devices, as
follows:
"40-14-23.
Each
county or municipality using traffic-control signal monitoring devices shall
erect signs on every highway which comprises a part of the state highway system
at that point on the highway which intersects the jurisdictional limits of the
county or municipality. A
sign
minimum of two
signs shall be erected also by such entity
on each public road on the approach to the next traffic-control signal for such
road when a traffic-control signal monitoring device is monitoring such next
signal for such road.
At least one
of the signs required by this Code section shall be placed within 60 feet of the
intersection. Such signs shall
be clearly
visible by approaching motorists, shall be
at least
30
40
inches by
30
40
inches in
measurement,
and shall warn approaching motorists that traffic-control signal monitoring
devices are being employed."
SECTION
5.
Said
article is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-24, relating to
reporting of traffic-control signal monitoring device use to elected officials,
by striking "and" at the end of paragraph (6), striking the period and adding ";
and" to the end of paragraph (7), and adding a new paragraph to read as
follows:
"(8)
The total number of fatalities occurring at a location where traffic-control
signal monitoring devices were used and a comparison of the recent year´s
fatalities to the number of fatalities at the same location in the preceding
four years."
SECTION
6.
Said
article is further amended by adding new Code sections to read as
follows:
"40-14-25.
The
Department of Public Safety shall be authorized to suspend, revoke, or deny a
permit to any agency, department, or governing authority upon a finding that a
traffic-control signal monitoring device is being used for purposes other than
the promotion of public safety. The same procedure used by the department for
the suspension or revocation of speed detection device permits as provided in
Article 2 of this chapter shall be used for the suspension, revocation, or
denial of traffic-control signal monitoring device permits.
40-14-26.
(a)
There is created the 'Law Enforcement Tuition Trust Fund' which shall be made up
of 50 percent of all revenues, fines, and fees generated through the use of
traffic-control signal monitoring devices. The fund shall be held in trust by
the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. Funds shall be used
as determined by the council but only for purposes relating to the training of
peace officers.
(b)
At least one-half of the moneys received by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards
and Training Council shall be used to grant individual tuition scholarships to
certified peace officers and children of peace officers or firefighters killed
in the line of duty. The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
shall establish eligibility criteria by applicable rules and regulations;
provided, however, that to be eligible for an individual scholarship, the
individual officer or child shall be enrolled in Georgia in a college level
program or class, a state or local police academy, or an adult technical
education class or program. In addition, the same eligibility, criteria, and
standards set forth in Subpart 7 of Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title
20, relating to the grants to children of law enforcement officers,
firefighters, and prison guards, shall be used in determining eligibility of
grants awarded under this article. The individual tuition scholarships awarded
shall not exceed $2,000.00 annually or $8,000.00 total to any individual officer
or child.
(c)
The funds from the Law Enforcement Tuition Trust Fund shall not be used to
supplant any other local, state, or federal funds appropriated for law
enforcement agencies.
(d)
Funds collected by county and municipal authorities through the use of
traffic-control signal monitoring devices shall be forwarded to the Georgia
Peace Officer Standards and Training Council on a quarterly basis as established
by the council. If an agency, department, or governing authority fails to remit
funds to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council as provided in
this Code section, any permit issued for the operation of traffic-control signal
monitoring devices shall be revoked.
(e)
The 50 percent of the funds collected from the operation of traffic-control
signal monitoring devices retained by a municipal, county, or consolidated
governing authority shall be passed through to the local law enforcement agency
of the municipal, county, or consolidated governing authority. Proceeds
received may be used for any official law enforcement purpose, including
training and the purchase of equipment, except for the payment of salaries or
rewards to law enfrocement personnel, at the discretion of the chief officer of
the local law enforcement agency. Such funds shall not be used to supplant any
other local, state, or federal funds appropriated for staff or
operations."
SECTION
7.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007.
SECTION
8.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.