(A) Prior to deploying any traffic law photo-monitoring device, a local authority shall do all of the following:

(1) Conduct a safety study of intersections or locations under consideration for placement of fixed traffic law photo-monitoring devices. The study shall include an accounting of incidents that have occurred in the designated area over the previous three-year period and shall be made available to the public upon request.

(2) Conduct a public information campaign to inform motor vehicle operators about the use of traffic law photo-monitoring devices at system locations prior to establishing any of those locations;

(3) Publish at least one notice in a local newspaper of general circulation that announces the local authority's intent to utilize traffic law photo-monitoring devices, the locations of those devices, if known, and the date on which the first traffic law photo-monitoring device will be operational;

(4) Refrain from levying any civil fines on any person found to have committed a traffic law violation based upon evidence gathered by a fixed location traffic law photo-monitoring device until the local authority observes a public awareness warning period of not less than thirty days prior to the first issuance of any ticket based upon images recorded by the device. During the warning period, the local authority shall take reasonable measures to inform the public of the location of the device and the date on which tickets will be issued for traffic law violations based upon evidence gathered by the device. A warning notice may be sent to violators during the public awareness warning period.

(B)

(1) A local authority that deploys its first traffic law photo-monitoring device after the effective date of this section shall do so only after complying with division (A) of this section. If such a local authority thereafter wishes to deploy an additional traffic law photo-monitoring device, the local authority shall comply with that division prior to deploying the additional device.

A local authority that is operating or has operated on its behalf a traffic law photo-monitoring device on the effective date of this section may continue to operate the device after that date without the need to comply with division (A) of this section. However, if such a local authority wishes to deploy an additional traffic law photo-monitoring device after the effective date of this section, the local authority shall comply with division (A) of this section prior to deploying the additional device.

(2) All tickets that result from evidence recorded by a traffic law photo-monitoring device and that are issued prior to the effective date of this section by or on behalf of a local authority may be processed and adjudicated in accordance with the rules and procedures that were in effect for such tickets prior to the effective date of this section. On and after the effective date of this section, no ticket for a traffic law violation that is based upon evidence recorded by a traffic law photo-monitoring device shall be processed and adjudicated in any manner other than in accordance with sections 4511.096 to 4511.0912 of the Revised Code.

Added by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 342, §1, eff. 3/23/2015.