State highway work zone speed safety program.

Assembly Member Haney, with coauthors Ahrens, Davies, Harabedian, and Ransom, proposes authorizing the Department of Transportation to establish a state highway work zone speed safety program that would deploy up to 35 speed safety systems in state highway construction or maintenance areas. The bill frames this as a state-administered program, requiring written guidelines developed in consultation with relevant state agencies and stakeholder groups, including those focused on privacy, racial equity, and economic justice, before any agreement, purchase, or implementation occurs. The authorization would last until January 1, 2032.

Key mechanisms include clearly identified enforcement zones with advance signage, including “Photo Enforced” indicators and posted speed limits, and a public listing of enforced work zones and hours on the department’s website. The program would require regular system inspections at least every 60 days and calibration at least annually by an independent laboratory, with documentation retained for a defined period. Violations would be issued only when workers are present in the work zone and would rely on real-time notification to motorists. A public information campaign would precede enforcement, and the initial 60 days of enforcement would use warning notices rather than notices of violation, with a first violation for 11–15 mph over the limit also designated as a warning. The department would adopt detailed guidelines covering data collection and access, permitted uses of information (limited to administering the program), data retention and disposal, notices processing, and confidentiality measures. Notably, the bill prohibits the use of facial recognition technology and limits the use of photographic evidence to the purposes of enforcing the article, with confidentiality requirements governing access to records.

The bill prescribes penalties, notice content, and dispute resolution as part of the program, while also creating funding and administrative safeguards. Violations captured by a speed safety system would yield civil penalties in graduated amounts (higher penalties for greater speeds) and would not suspend driving privileges or accrue DMV points. Notices would be mailed to the registered owner within 15 days and must include specific details about the violation, the speed, the location, calibration data, and payment or contest instructions. A program of indigent relief would permit reduced penalties and payment plans, with stipulations for documentation and a potential 80 percent reduction for indigent individuals or 50 percent for those up to 250 percent above the federal poverty level. Revenues from citations would be deposited into a Safe Highway Work Zone Account within the State Transportation Fund, with continuous appropriation to the department for administration and any surplus directed to Construction Zone Enhanced Enforcement and Maintenance Zone Enhanced Enforcement, aligning funding with enforcement activities. The bill also provides for appeals and hearings, including an administrative hearing process conducted by independent examiners, and requires annual reporting to the Legislature on program operations, safety outcomes, and financials, including data on speeds, violations, and enforcement costs and revenues. The article would remain in effect only until 2032, after which it would be repealed.

In addition to establishing the program, the measure includes provisions related to related Government Code amendments that would be operative only if paired with a companion measure and enacted in a particular sequence, and it adds additional vehicle code provisions defining the program, enforcement parameters, and related practices. The findings accompanying the bill emphasize construction worker safety in highway work zones and describe automated speed enforcement as a data-informed means to monitor and enforce compliance in those zones, while also articulating privacy protections and the balance between enforcement and public access to records. Taken together, the provisions outline a framework for a state-administered, work-zone–focused speed enforcement program that operates alongside existing enforcement activities, with data collection, accountability, and privacy safeguards central to its design.