HomeMy WebLinkAbout4487 ORDINANCE NO. 4487
AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, amending sections
9.36.140 and 9.36.150 of the Kent City Code to
incorporate state legislative changes adopted
through ESHB 2384 that take effect June 6, 2024.
RECITALS
A. During the 2024 legislative session, the state adopted
Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB 2384), which made a number of
changes to the laws concerning traffic safety cameras. The bill expanded the
uses for which traffic safety cameras could be used, placed limits on how
revenue generated from some traffic safety camera violations could be used,
revised the fine amounts that apply to traffic safety camera violations, and
reduced fine amounts for first-time violators who receive state public
assistance.
B. The City of Kent currently uses traffic safety cameras to detect
speed violations in school zones and red-light traffic control violations.
Because the Kent City Council previously took action to limit how revenue
generated from these camera violations could be used within the City of
Kent, the state legislature exempted revenue from those cameras from the
use limitations set out in ESHB 2384. As a result, the City of Kent may
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continue to dedicate revenue generated from violations of its existing traffic
safety camera program to fund personnel, programs, services, and
equipment related to the enforcement and processing of traffic and criminal
laws within the City of Kent.
C. RCW 46.63.170(2) currently provides that traffic safety camera
violations are to be assessed a fine that does not exceed the fine amount
assessed for parking violations within the jurisdiction. Fines assessed in Kent
for parking violations range between $30 and $450. As such, fines for traffic
safety camera violations in Kent were set within that range. The current fine
amount is $136, and for traveling at a speed of 30 mph or more in a school
zone, the fine is $248. The base fine of $136 for traffic safety camera
violations was last adjusted on December 11, 2018, through Ordinance No.
4298. No adjustments have been made to those fine amounts to account for
inflation.
D. Through ESHB 2384, the state legislature repealed RCW
43,63.170 and enacted a new statute that uncouples fines for traffic safety
camera violations from parking violations, and simply provides fines may
not exceed $145, as that amount may be adjusted for inflation by the state
Office of Financial Management every five years, beginning January 1, 2029,
based upon changes in the consumer price index during that time period.
The legislature further provided authorization for the fine amount to double
for speed violations within school zones, which is consistent with fines
assessed for school zone violations that are on-viewed by police officers.
E. For those registered owners of vehicles who receive state public
assistance or benefits through the Washington Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) program, ESHB 2384 requires they be granted, upon
request, a reduction in the fine assessed for traffic safety camera violations
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to an amount that is 50% of the original fine amount. However, this fine
reduction applies only to such registered owner's first traffic safety camera
violation, and subsequent traffic safety camera violations that occur within
21 days of issuance of the first violation notice.
F. 'This ordinance increases the base fine for traffic safety camera
violations from $136 to $145. Further, instead of doubling the fine for all
school zone speed violations captured by traffic safety cameras as
authorized by ESHB 2384, violations would only be subject to an increased
fine amount if the vehicle was traveling at a speed of 30 mph or more, i.e.
10 mph over the posted 20 mph zone. These fine amounts would thereafter
increase consistent with any adjustments provided for by the state Office of
Financial Management as provided for by ESHB 2384.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. - Amendment KCC 9.36.140. Section 9.36.140 of the
Kent City Code, entitled "School speed zone traffic safety cameras", is
hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 9.36.140. School speed zone traffic safety cameras.
A. Authorized use of automated traffic safety cameras. Pursuant to the
authority provided for by Ch. 46.63 RCW ef RGW 46.63.170, the city is
authorized to use automated traffic safety cameras and related automated
systems in order to detect, record, and enforce and prosecute school speed
zone violations.
B. Limitation on photos - Use of photos.
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1. Limitation on photos. Automated traffic safety cameras may
only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while an
infraction is occurring. The picture must not reveal the face of the driver or
of passengers in the vehicle.
2. Use of photos. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all
photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images prepared under this
section are for the exclusive use of law enforcement in the discharge of
duties under this section and are not open to the public and may not be used
in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding
relates to a violation under this section. No photograph, microphotograph,
or electronic image may be used for any purpose other than enforcement of
violations under this section nor retained longer than necessary to enforce
this section.
C. Infraction processing - Responsibilities - Presumption.
1. In general. Infractions detected through the use of automated
traffic safety cameras are not part of the registered owner's driving record
under RCW 46.52,101 and 46.52.120. Additionally, infractions generated by
the use of automated traffic safety cameras shall be processed in the same
manner as parking infractions, including for the purposes of RCW 3.50.100,
35.20.220, 46.16A.120, and 46.20.270(23).
2. Notice of infraction. A notice of infraction must be mailed to the
registered owner of the vehicle within 14 days of the violation, or to the
renter of a vehicle within 14 days of establishing the renter's name and
address under subsection (C)(4) of this section. The law enforcement officer
issuing the notice of infraction shall include with it a certificate or facsimile
thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, or
electronic images produced by an automated traffic safety camera, stating
the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This certificate or facsimile is
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prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it and is admissible in a
proceeding charging a violation under this section. Any citation or notice of
infraction issued pursuant to this section may be initiated by electronic
signature of the issuing police officer. The photographs, microphotographs,
or electronic images evidencing the violation must be available for inspection
and admission into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate the liability for
the infraction. A person receiving a notice of infraction based on evidence
detected by an automated traffic safety camera may respond to the notice
by mail.
3. Registered owner responsible - Rental car business. The
registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for an infraction issued pursuant
to this section unless the registered owner overcomes the presumption in
subsection (C)(5) of this section, or, in the case of a rental car business,
satisfies the conditions under subsection (C)(4) of this section. If appropriate
under the circumstances, a renter identified under subsection (C)(4) of this
section is responsible for an infraction.
4. Rental cars. If the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental
car business, the law enforcement agency shall, before a notice of infraction
is issued under this section, provide a written notice to the rental car
business that a notice of infraction may be issued to the rental car business
if the rental car business does not, within 18 days of receiving the written
notice, provide to the issuing agency by return mail:
a. A statement under oath stating the name and known
mailing address of the individual driving or renting the vehicle when the
infraction occurred; or
b. A statement under oath that the business is unable to
determine who was driving or renting the vehicle at the time the infraction
occurred because the vehicle was stolen at the time of the infraction. A
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statement provided under this subsection must be accompanied by a copy
of a filed police report regarding the vehicle theft; or
C. In lieu of identifying the vehicle operator, the rental car
business may pay the applicable penalty.
Timely mailing of the statements described in subsections (C)(4)(a) and (b)
of this section to the issuing law enforcement agency relieves a rental car
business of any liability under this section for the notice of infraction.
5. Presumption. Pursuant to RCW 46.63.075, in a traffic infraction
case involving an infraction detected through the use of an automated traffic
safety camera under this section, proof that the particular vehicle described
in the notice of traffic infraction was in violation of a law enforced through
the use of the automated traffic safety camera, together with proof that the
person named in the notice of traffic infraction was at the time of the
violation the registered owner of the vehicle, constitutes in evidence a prima
facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person
in control of the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which,
the violation occurred. This presumption may be overcome only if the
registered owner states, under oath, in a written statement to the court or
in testimony before the court that the vehicle involved was, at the time,
stolen or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the
registered owner.
D. Infraction - Penalty. It shall be an infraction to exceed the posted
speed limit in a school speed zone enforced through the use of an automated
traffic safety camera. The penalty for an infraction committed in a school
speed zone which is detected through the use of an automated traffic safety
camera shall be 145 6; provided, the penalty shall be 290$248 for a
violation in which the vehicle was operated at a speed of 30 miles per hour
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or more. In addition to the fines provided herein, a violator may be assessed
any costs and assessments as required or permitted by state law or court
rule. The penalty assessed under this section shall adjust consistent with
those inflation adjustments made by the state Office of Financial
Management every five years beginning January 1 2029 based upon
changes in the consumer price index during that time period, as provided
for by Laws of 2024, Ch. 207 � 16.
Registered owners of vehicles who receive notices of infraction for
automated traffic safety camera-enforced infractions and are recipients of
public assistance under Title 74 RCW or participants in the Washington
Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, and who request reduced
penalties for infractions detected through the use of automated traffic safety
camera violations, must be granted reduced penalty amounts of 50% of
what would otherwise be assessed for a first automated traffic safety camera
violation and for subsequent automated traffic safety camera violations
issued within 21 days of issuance of the first automated traffic safety camera
violation Eligibility for medicaid under RCW 74 09.510 is not a qualifying
criterion under this subsection.
E. Signs - Payment to vendor - Alternative enforcement.
1. School zones must be signed. All locations where an automated
traffic safety camera is used must be clearly marked at least 30 days prior
to activation of the camera by placing signs in locations that clearly indicate
to a driver that he or she is entering a zone where traffic laws are enforced
by an automated traffic safety camera.
2. Payment made to vendor. The compensation paid by the city
to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated traffic safety camera
equipment must be based only upon the value of the equipment and services
provided or rendered in support of the system, and may not be based upon
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a portion of the fine or civil penalty imposed or the revenue generated by
the equipment.
3. Alternative enforcement. Nothing in this section prohibits a law
enforcement officer from issuing a notice of traffic infraction to a person in
control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs pursuant to RCW
46.63.030(1)(a), (b), or (c).
F. Use of funds. Funds derived from the use of automated traffic safety
cameras shall be used to pay the costs of administering the automated traffic
safety camera program, including but not limited to personnel costs, vendor
costs, and equipment costs. Funds in excess of these costs may be used to
fund personnel, programs, services, and equipment related to the
enforcement and processing of traffic and criminal laws within the city.
G. Definition. For the purposes of this section "automated traffic safety
camera" means a device that uses a vehicle sensor installed to work in
conjunction with an intersection traffic control system, a railroad grade
crossing control system, or a speed measuring device, and a camera
synchronized to automatically record one or more sequenced photographs,
microphotographs, or electronic images of the front or rear of a motor
vehicle at the time the vehicle fails to stop when facing a steady red traffic
control signal or an activated railroad grade crossing control signal, or
exceeds a speed limit in a school speed zone as detected by a speed
measuring device; and "school speed zone" shall have the same meaning as
described in RCW 46.61.440 (1) and (2)..
SECTION 2. - Amendment KCC 9.36.150. Section 9.36.150 of the
Kent City Code, entitled 'Stoplight traffic safety cameras", is hereby
amended as follows:
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Sec. 9.36.150. Stoplight traffic safety cameras.
A. Authorized use of automated traffic safety cameras. Pursuant to the
authority of Ch. 46.63 RCW 46 63 17G, the city is authorized to use
automated traffic safety cameras and related automated systems in order
to detect, record, and enforce and prosecute stoplight violations.
B. Limitation on photos - Use of photos.
1. Limitation on photos. Automated traffic safety cameras may
only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while an
infraction is occurring. The picture must not reveal the face of the driver or
of passengers in the vehicle.
2. Use of photos. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all
photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images prepared under this
section are for the exclusive use of law enforcement in the discharge of
duties under this section and are not open to the public and may not be used
in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding
relates to a violation under this section. No photograph, microphotograph,
or electronic image may be used for any purpose other than enforcement of
violations under this section nor retained longer than necessary to enforce
this section.
C. Infraction processing - Responsibilities - Presumption.
1. In general. Infractions detected through the use of automated
traffic safety cameras are not part of the registered owner's driving record
under RCW 46.52.101 and 46.52.120. Additionally, infractions generated by
the use of automated traffic safety cameras shall be processed in the same
manner as parking infractions, including for the purposes of RCW 3.50.100,
35.20.220, 46.16A.120, and 46.20.270(3).
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2. Notice of infraction. A notice of infraction must be mailed to the
registered owner of the vehicle within 14 days of the violation, or to the
renter of a vehicle within 14 days of establishing the renter's name and
address under subsection (C)(4) of this section. The law enforcement officer
issuing the notice of infraction shall include with it a certificate or facsimile
thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, or
electronic images produced by an automated traffic safety camera, stating
the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This certificate or facsimile is
prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it and is admissible in a
proceeding charging a violation under this section. Any citation or notice of
infraction issued pursuant to this section may be initiated by electronic
signature of the issuing police officer. The photographs, microphotographs,
or electronic images evidencing the violation must be available for inspection
and admission into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate the liability for
the infraction. A person receiving a notice of infraction based on evidence
detected by an automated traffic safety camera may respond to the notice
by mail.
3. Registered owner responsible - Rental car business. The
registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for an infraction issued pursuant
to this section unless the registered owner overcomes the presumption in
subsection (C)(5) of this section, or, in the case of a rental car business,
satisfies the conditions under subsection (C)(4) of this section. If appropriate
under the circumstances, a renter identified under subsection (C)(4) of this
section is responsible for an infraction.
4. Rental cars. If the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental
car business, the law enforcement agency shall, before a notice of infraction
is issued under this section, provide a written notice to the rental car
business that a notice of infraction may be issued to the rental car business
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if the rental car business does not, within 18 days of receiving the written
notice, provide to the issuing agency by return mail:
a. A statement under oath stating the name and known
mailing address of the individual driving or renting the vehicle when the
infraction occurred; or
b. A statement under oath that the business is unable to
determine who was driving or renting the vehicle at the time the infraction
occurred because the vehicle was stolen at the time of the infraction. A
statement provided under this subsection must be accompanied by a copy
of a filed police report regarding the vehicle theft; or
C. In lieu of identifying the vehicle operator, the rental car
business may pay the applicable penalty.
Timely mailing of the statements described in subsections (C)(4)(a)
and (C)(4)(b) of this section to the issuing law enforcement agency relieves
a rental car business of any liability under this section for the notice of
infraction.
5. Presumption. Pursuant to RCW 46.63.075, in a traffic infraction
case involving an infraction detected through the use of an automated traffic
safety camera under this section, proof that the particular vehicle described
in the notice of traffic infraction was in violation of a law enforced through
the use of the automated traffic safety camera, together with proof that the
person named in the notice of traffic infraction was at the time of the
violation the registered owner of the vehicle, constitutes in evidence a prima
facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person
in control of the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which,
the violation occurred. This presumption may be overcome only if the
registered owner states, under oath, in a written statement to the court or
in testimony before the court that the vehicle involved was, at the time,
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stolen or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the
registered owner.
D. Infraction - Penalty. A driver facing a steady red traffic control signal
shall stop and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown.
It shall be an infraction to proceed through a stoplight at the intersections
of two arterials enforced through the use of an automated traffic safety
camera. The penalty for a stoplight infraction detected through the use of
an automated traffic safety camera shall be 145". In addition to the
fine provided herein, a violator may be assessed any costs and assessments
as required or permitted by state law or court rule. The penalty assessed
under this section shall adiust consistent with those inflation adiustments
made by the state Office of Financial Management every five years,
beginning January 1 2029 based upon changes in the consumer price index
during that time period as provided for by Laws of 2024 Ch. 207 � 16.
Registered owners of vehicles who receive notices of infraction for
automated traffic safety camera-enforced infractions and are recipients of
public assistance under Title 74 RCW or participants in the Washington
Women Infants and Children (WIC) program and who request reduced
penalties for infractions detected through the use of automated traffic safety
camera violations must be granted reduced penalty amounts of 50% of
what would otherwise be assessed for a first automated traffic safety camera
violation and for subsequent automated traffic safety camera violations
issued within 21 days of issuance of the first automated traffic safety camera
violation Eligibility for medicaid under RCW 74 09 510 is not a qualifying
criterion under this subsection.
E. Signs - Payment to vendor - Alternative enforcement.
1. Stoplight locations must be signed. All locations where an
automated traffic safety camera is used must be clearly marked at least 30
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days prior to activation of the camera by placing signs in locations that
clearly indicate to a driver that he or she is entering a zone where traffic
laws are enforced by an automated traffic safety camera.
2. Payment made to vendor. The compensation paid by the city
to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated traffic safety camera
equipment must be based only upon the value of the equipment and services
provided or rendered in support of the system, and may not be based upon
a portion of the fine or civil penalty imposed or the revenue generated by
the equipment.
3. Alternative enforcement. Nothing in this section prohibits a law
enforcement officer from issuing a notice of traffic infraction to a person in
control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs pursuant to RCW
46.63.030(1)(a), (b), or (c).
F. Use of funds. Funds derived from the use of automated traffic safety
cameras shall be used to pay the costs of administering the automated traffic
safety camera program, including, but not limited to personnel costs, vendor
costs, and equipment costs. Funds in excess of these costs may be used to
fund personnel, programs, services and equipment related to the
enforcement and processing of traffic and criminal laws within the city.
G. Definition. For the purposes of this section_,—''automated traffic safety
camera" means a device that uses a vehicle sensor installed to work in
conjunction with an intersection traffic control system, a railroad grade
crossing control system, or a speed measuring device, and a camera
synchronized to automatically record one or more sequenced photographs,
microphotographs, or electronic images of the rear of a motor vehicle at the
time the vehicle fails to stop when facing a steady red traffic control signal
or an activated railroad grade crossing control signal, or exceeds a speed
limit in a school speed zone as detected by a speed measuring device:.and
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"school speed zone" shall have the same meaning as described in RCW
46.61.440 () and (2).
SECTION 3. - Severability. If any one or more section, subsection,
or sentence of this ordinance is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance
and the same shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. - Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the city attorney, the city clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the
correction of clerical errors; ordinance, section, or subsection numbering; or
references to other local, state, or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations.
SECTIONS. - Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be
in force thirty days from the time of final passage as provided for by law.
May 7, 2024
DANA RALPH, MA OR r-7)
Date Approved
ATTEST:
May 7, 2024
KIMBERLEY KOMOTO, CITY CLERK Date Adopted
May 10, 2024
Date Published
APR VED A TO FORM:
TA WHITE, CITY ATTORNEY
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