Ohio lawmakers want to change how traffic camera laws are enforced across Ohio.

A two-year, $11 billion transportation budget introduced by Senator Al Cutrona and passed by the Ohio State House aims to eliminate handheld cameras in townships. 

If the budget is signed into law by the Ohio governor, places like Weathersfield, Liberty, and Vienna will no longer be permitted to use them for issuing tickets, a change that they believe will significantly strain police departments.

"I think its devastating for us. We've been using them since 2016," Ray Buhala, Liberty Township Police Department captain said. "By not allowing us to use this technology it's going to set us back. In time when our country is moving forward with technology and everything we do, they're taking it away from law enforcement which to me doesn't make sense." 

Vienna Township trustee Phil Pegg, said the revenue the township generated from speed cameras has helped with their fiscal problems. He said they can now sustain themselves financially without the speed cameras, but the cameras are about more than money. Buhala echoed Pegg's sentiments.

"We had one in particular where a 13 year old was out of a sunroof traveling 115 miles an hour. We're able to radio ahead because we had that guy up on the bridge...and stop that behavior from happening. So without those monitors up there monitoring that traffic it could be devastating for the traveling public," Buhala said. 

According to the captain, in 2024 his police department stopped 243 vehicles that were traveling up to 90 miles per hour on state route 11. The infractions were caught by the hand-held speed cameras. 

The provision of the budget can be line-item vetoed by Governor Mike DeWine. The deadline for the budget is March 31.