Red light cameras and school zone speed cameras are now banned on Okaloosa County roadways after Commissioners voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution citing constitutional due process concerns.
- Chairman Trey Goodwin, who requested the item be placed on the agenda, said the action was prompted by a March 4 ruling from Broward County Judge Steven DeLuca finding that Florida’s red light camera statute violates constitutional due process protections.
“I think Judge DeLuca’s order is well reasoned and well written,” Goodwin said. “Until the legislature fixes the statute, it’s not even a policy issue. It’s a fundamental due process rights issue.”
The county does not currently have red light cameras or school zone speed cameras on county-maintained roads, according to the county’s public information office. However, Goodwin noted that staff has received requests from cities seeking to place cameras on county rights-of-way.
- “That’s really not something that staff should be burdened with,” Goodwin said. “Staff shouldn’t have to make the decision. Do we as a county want to have these in our right of way or not? That’s really, I think, a decision of this board.”
Goodwin noted that in one prior instance, a private vendor working for a city placed cameras on county right-of-way without approval, and public works staff had to remove the equipment after multiple requests to the vendor went unanswered.
The resolution applies only to county-owned and county-maintained roads. Cities retain authority over their own roads, and state roads remain under state jurisdiction.
Judge DeLuca’s ruling addressed a case involving the City of Sunrise. The order found that Florida’s red light camera statute presumes the registered vehicle owner is guilty and requires that person to prove their innocence by identifying another driver — a framework the judge found incompatible with constitutional due process.
“The reality of it is that the cameras don’t identify a person. They identify a vehicle,” Goodwin said. “Instead of the state, or in this case the city or whatever municipality or county is enforcing it, bearing the burden to prove the driver — because these are driver-based offenses, right? Cars don’t get tickets. People get tickets — it puts the onus on the accused to prove their innocence.”
- He said that approach “violates all fundamental principles of procedural due process running back to the founding of our country.”
Goodwin acknowledged the ruling does not directly bind Okaloosa County but said he expects similar opinions to follow.
Mixon proposed a friendly amendment that would have exempted county roads within municipal boundaries, allowing cities to make their own decisions on those roads. He cited home rule concerns, noting that the county regularly advocates against state interference in local governance.
“Let’s give our municipalities an opportunity to make the same decision that we’re making today for the people that they represent,” Mixon said.
Goodwin declined the amendment.
“I don’t see exceptions to due process as valid reasons to not move forward,” Goodwin said. “Regardless of whether you’re on a county road in a city, or you’re in another state, or you’re in a U.S. territory, due process is the same and should be applied under those principles.”
- He added: “I understand the arguments. The arguments about school safety, I understand those. But keep in mind, you cannot use the end to justify the means in all cases. And it is dangerous to use safety as an excuse to override our constitution.”
The resolution passed 4-1, with Mixon casting the lone dissenting vote over the scope of the ban rather than the concept itself.
The resolution is separate from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office’s use of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, which commissioners discussed in January. Those cameras are used as investigative tools to assist with criminal cases and do not issue citations. The resolution adopted Tuesday does not affect the sheriff’s office Flock program.
