HB575INTRODUCED
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HB575
I1URZ66-1
By Representatives Holk-Jones, Baker, Givens (N & P)
RFD: Local Legislation
First Read: 15-Apr-25
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5 I1URZ66-1 02/13/2025 THR (L)THR 2024-3093
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First Read: 15-Apr-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to Baldwin County; to authorize any
municipality located in whole or in part in Baldwin County to
operate an automated photographic speeding enforcement system;
and to provide for the jurisdiction of civil fines issued
pursuant to violations captured by an automated photographic
speeding enforcement system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. For the purposes of this act, the following
terms have the following meanings:
(1) SYSTEM. Technology operated by a law enforcement
officer that combines a manually operated camera system that
works in conjunction with an electronically operated speed
detection system to automatically record digital imaging of a
motor vehicle while speeding.
(2) TRAINED TECHNICIAN. A law enforcement officer who
has been trained by a vendor that sells or maintains the
system.
(3) ZONE. A reduced speed school zone as described in
Section 32-5A-182, Code of Alabama 1975, or a construction
zone as described in Section 32-5A-176.1, Code of Alabama
1975.
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1975.
Section 2. (a)(1) Any municipality located in whole or
in part in Baldwin County, by ordinance, may operate a system
to detect and record speeding violations that occur
exclusively within a zone, issue notices of civil violations
by mail, and prosecute civil violations for the recorded
speeding violations which may occur within the corporate
limits of the municipality as provided in this act.
(2) A civil fine assessed under this act may not exceed
one hundred ninety-five dollars ($195). At least ten dollars
($10) of each assessed fine shall be allocated to one of the
following uses:
a. Funding school resource officers.
b. Implementing school safety plans.
c. Implementing safety programs related to zones.
(3) Municipal court costs may be assessed in the same
manner and in the same amounts prescribed for municipal
speeding violations prosecuted as a violation or misdemeanor.
(4) Court costs and fines collected pursuant to this
act shall be distributed as prescribed by municipal ordinance
and by Section 4(i).
(b) If a municipality adopts an ordinance to operate a
system, the municipality shall do all of the following:
(1) Post signs at a minimum of three roadway entry
points to the municipality to provide motorists with notice
that a system is in use.
(2) At least 30 days prior to initially operating a
system, make a public announcement and conduct a public
awareness campaign regarding the use of the system.
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awareness campaign regarding the use of the system.
(3) Post signs warning of the use of a system within 50
yards of each zone where a system is in use.
Section 3. (a) Prior to imposing a civil penalty
pursuant to this act, a municipality must first mail a notice
of violation by certified U.S. mail, return receipt requested,
to the owner of the motor vehicle that is recorded committing
a speeding violation by the system. The notice must be sent no
later than 30 days after the date the violation was recorded
to the vehicle owner's registered address.
(b) A notice of violation issued shall contain all of
the following:
(1) A description of the alleged speeding violation.
(2) The date, time, and location of the alleged
violation.
(3) A copy of recorded images of the vehicle involved
in the alleged violation.
(4) The amount of the civil penalty to be imposed for
the alleged violation.
(5) The date by which the civil penalty must be paid.
(6) A statement that the person named in the notice of
violation may pay the civil penalty in lieu of appearing at an
administrative adjudication hearing.
(7) A statement of the person's right to contest the
imposition of the civil penalty in an administrative
adjudication.
(8) The manner and time in which to contest the
imposition of the civil penalty.
(9) A statement that failure to either pay the civil
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(9) A statement that failure to either pay the civil
penalty or to contest liability is an admission of liability.
(10) A statement that a recorded image is evidence in a
proceeding for the imposition of a civil penalty.
(11) A statement that failure to pay the civil penalty
within the time allowed will result in the imposition of a
late penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(c) A notice of violation is presumed to have been
received on the 10th day after the date the notice was mailed.
(d) A civil penalty must be paid within 40 days after
the date the notice was mailed.
(e) A municipality, in lieu of issuing a notice of
violation, may mail a warning notice to the owner of the
vehicle involved in the alleged violation.
Section 4. (a)(1) In any municipality that adopts an
ordinance pursuant to Section 2, the municipal court is vested
with the power and jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate civil
violations and issue orders imposing civil fines and costs as
provided in this act.
(2) A municipality, by ordinance, may authorize the
municipal court to hold adjudicative hearings concurrently
with the court's regular docket or to set a special docket for
adjudicative hearings.
(b) A person who receives a notice of violation may
contest the imposition of the civil fine by submitting a
request for a hearing on the adjudication of the civil
violation, in writing, within 25 days after the date the
notice of violation was mailed.
(c) Upon receipt of a timely request, the municipal
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(c) Upon receipt of a timely request, the municipal
court shall notify the person of the date, time, and location
of the adjudicative hearing by U.S. mail.
(d) Failure to either pay a civil penalty or to contest
liability in a timely manner is an admission of liability in
the full amount of the civil fine assessed in the notice of
violation.
(e) The civil fine may not be assessed if, after an
adjudicative hearing, the municipal judge enters a finding of
no liability.
(f) If an adjudicative hearing is requested, the
municipality shall have the burden of proving the speeding
violation by a preponderance of the evidence. The reliability
of the system used to produce a recorded image of the
violation may be attested to by affidavit of a trained
technician. An affidavit of a trained technician that alleges
a violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded
image is admissible in a proceeding under this act and is
evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit.
(g)(1) In an adjudicative hearing held pursuant to this
act, all of the following shall be admissible into evidence
without foundation unless the municipal court finds there is
an indication of untrustworthiness:
a. The notice of violation.
b. The recorded or reproduced images of the alleged
violation accompanied by a certification of authenticity by a
trained technician, regardless of the media on which the
images were recorded.
c. Evidence of ownership of a vehicle as shown by
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c. Evidence of ownership of a vehicle as shown by
copies or summaries of official records.
(2) If the municipal court finds there is an indication
of untrustworthiness with an item listed in this subsection,
the municipality shall be given a reasonable opportunity to
lay an evidentiary foundation.
(h) All other matters of evidence and procedure not
specifically addressed in this act shall be subject to the
rules of evidence and the rules of procedure as they apply in
the small claims courts of this state, except that on any
appeal to the Baldwin County Circuit Court for trial de novo
the evidence and procedures shall be as for any civil case in
the circuit court except as otherwise provided in this act.
(i)(1) A person who is found liable for a civil
violation after an adjudicative hearing or who requests an
adjudicative hearing and fails to appear at the time and place
of the hearing is liable for court costs and fees as set out
in this act in addition to the amount of the civil fine
assessed for the violation.
(2) A person who is found liable for a civil violation
after an adjudicative hearing shall pay the civil fine and
court costs within 10 days after the adjudicative hearing, and
the municipality shall remit twenty-five dollars ($25) from
the court costs paid to the State General Fund.
(j) Whenever payment of a civil fine is owed to a
municipality, the amount of the civil fine as set by ordinance
may not be increased, decreased, or remitted by the municipal
court, and the liability may be satisfied only by payment.
(k) Any of the following shall be an affirmative
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(k) Any of the following shall be an affirmative
defense to the imposition of civil liability under this act,
to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence:
(1) The operator of the motor vehicle was acting in
compliance with the lawful order or direction of a law
enforcement officer.
(2) The motor vehicle was being operated as an
authorized emergency vehicle under Sections 32-5-213 and
32-5A-7, Code of Alabama 1975.
(3) The motor vehicle was stolen or being operated by a
person other than the owner of the vehicle without the
effective consent of the owner.
(4) The license plate depicted in the recorded image of
the violation was a stolen plate and being displayed on a
motor vehicle other than the motor vehicle for which the plate
had been issued.
(5) The person who received the notice of violation was
not the owner of the motor vehicle at the time of the
violation.
(l) To demonstrate that at the time of the violation
the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle or the license plate
displayed on the motor vehicle was a stolen plate, the owner
must submit proof acceptable to the hearing officer that the
theft of the vehicle or license plate, prior to the time of
the violation, had been timely reported to the appropriate law
enforcement agency.
(m) Notwithstanding anything in this act to the
contrary, a person who fails to pay the amount of a civil fine
or to contest liability in a timely manner is entitled to an
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or to contest liability in a timely manner is entitled to an
adjudicative hearing on the alleged violation if the person:
(1) Files an affidavit with the hearing officer stating
the date on which the person received the notice of violation
that was mailed to the person, if not received by the 10th day
after the notice was mailed as provided in Section 3; and
(2) Within 15 days after the date of actual receipt,
requests an adjudicative hearing.
Section 5. (a) Following an adjudicative hearing, the
municipal court judge shall issue an order stating the
following:
(1) Whether the person charged with the civil violation
is liable for the violation.
(2) The amount of the civil fine, fees, or costs of
court assessed against the person.
(b) An order issued pursuant to this section may be
filed in the office of the judge of probate and shall operate
as a judicial lien in the same manner and with the same weight
and effect as any other civil judgment filed with the judge of
probate.
(c) A person who is found liable after an adjudicative
hearing may appeal that finding of civil liability to the
Circuit Court of Baldwin County by filing a notice of appeal
with the clerk of the municipal court. The notice of appeal
must be filed within 14 days after the date on which the
municipal court judge entered the finding of liability. The
filing of a notice of appeal shall stay the enforcement of the
civil fine penalty. An appeal shall be determined by the
circuit court by trial de novo.
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circuit court by trial de novo.
Section 6. The circuit court hearing an appeal pursuant
to this act shall use the procedures that apply to criminal
convictions in municipal court with all of the following
qualifications:
(1) The proceedings shall retain their civil nature on
appeal with the circuit court applying the preponderance of
the evidence standard.
(2) If the person is adjudicated by the circuit court
to be responsible for payment of the civil fine, circuit court
costs shall be owed by the person adjudicated responsible,
with all of those court costs retained by the circuit court.
Court costs in the circuit court shall be calculated and
distributed in the same manner as court costs for criminal
appeals from the municipal court, and in the event the circuit
court finds the person appealing not to be responsible, no
municipal court costs shall be owed to the municipality.
(3) Regardless of the civil nature of the proceedings,
the circuit court may assign case numbers in the same manner
as for criminal appeals and place an appeal on the criminal
docket in the same manner as criminal appeals from municipal
court.
(4) The circuit court shall sit as trier of both fact
and law in the civil proceedings of the circuit court.
(5) The municipality shall be responsible for providing
an attorney to represent the municipality and to prosecute the
civil proceedings in the circuit court.
Section 7. If the evidence produced by a system does
not produce an image of the license plate with sufficient
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not produce an image of the license plate with sufficient
clarity for a licensed technician to determine the identity of
the owner, then no notice of violation may be issued pursuant
to this act.
Section 8. (a) A municipality, by ordinance, may
provide that a late fee not exceeding twenty-five dollars
($25) shall attach to untimely paid civil fines authorized by
this act.
(b) No person may be arrested or incarcerated for
nonpayment of a civil fine or late fee authorized by this act.
(c) No record of an adjudication of civil violation
made under this act may be listed, entered, or reported on any
criminal record or driving record, whether the record is
maintained by the municipality or an outside entity.
(d) An adjudication of a civil violation provided by
this act may not be considered a conviction for any purpose,
may not be considered a moving violation, may not be used to
increase or enhance punishment for any subsequent offense of a
criminal nature, and may not be used by any insurance company
to determine or affect premiums or rates unless an accident
occurred due to the violation.
(e) The fact that a person is held liable or
responsible for a civil fine for a speeding violation may not
be used as evidence that the person was guilty of negligence
or other culpable conduct. Any evidence generated by a system
may only be used as evidence in other proceedings if it is or
becomes admissible under the rules of evidence applicable to
the proceeding.
Section 9. A municipality shall keep statistical data
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Section 9. A municipality shall keep statistical data
regarding the number of notices of violation issued and shall
communicate the data on an annual basis to the Department of
Transportation.
Section 10. No civil penalty may be imposed and no
adjudication of liability for a civil violation may be made
under this act if the operator of the vehicle was arrested or
was issued a citation and notice to appear by a sworn police
officer for a criminal violation under Article 8 of Chapter 5A
of Title 32, Code of Alabama 1975, or any municipal ordinance
that embraces or incorporates the statutes contained in that
article, and that occurred simultaneously with and under the
same set of circumstances that were recorded by the system.
Section 11. (a) Any person against whom an adjudication
of liability for a civil violation is made pursuant to this
act and who pays the civil fine imposed by the adjudication
shall have a cause of action against any person who may be
shown to have been operating the vehicle recorded at the time
of the violation for the amount of the civil fine paid, any
consequential or compensatory damages, and reasonable attorney
fees, without regard to the rules regarding joint and several
liability, contribution, or indemnity.
(b) Prior to bringing a civil action pursuant to this
section, the person held responsible for payment of the civil
fine must first make written demand on the other person for
reimbursement, giving a minimum of 60 days to remit payment.
(c) If reimbursement is fully made within the 60-day
period then the cause of action shall be extinguished and no
attorney fees or other damages may attach to the
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attorney fees or other damages may attach to the
reimbursement.
(d) Any cause of action brought pursuant to this
section must be commenced within two years from the date of
the payment of the civil fine.
Section 12. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2025.
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