Governor ends van cams
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By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
The private operator of the state's traffic camera program is seeking up to $8 million in compensation now that the program has been scrapped.
Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday ordered the controversial program halted after the state House of Representatives voted unanimously to repeal the program. The camera vans were pulled from the street at 9:30 yesterday morning.
ACS, State and Local Solutions, the company that operated the camera program for the state, told state officials they will seek $5 million to $8 million to offset their startup costs under a termination clause in its contract, Transportation Director Brian Minaai said.
Minaai told lawmakers earlier this year that terminating the contract with ACS could cost the state in excess of $1 million. He said the new, higher figures began circulating in recent days as repeal became more likely. The $8 million figure includes the cost of equipment, salaries and the development of sophisticated technology used in the camera program.
"We'll be negotiating with ACS to come to a fair figure," Minaai said. "I think that $8 million is just their opening bargaining position."
ACS officials did not return requests for comment yesterday, but Honolulu residents were quick to react to talk of a proposed multimillion-dollar settlement with the company.
"That is one of those things that people should be really outraged by," said Maile Meyer, a book seller and the founder of Native Books in Kalihi and one of the founders of Native Books & Beautiful Things in Ward Warehouse.
The money the state will pay to cancel the contract could better be used to help the thousands of families hit by economic problems after Sept. 11, Meyer said.
Cost causes reaction
Mike Buchanan, who successfully contested the van cam ticket he got in January on the Pali Highway, called the $5 million to $8 million cost "a shocking amount of money."
But he wasn't shocked that the state might have to pay it.
"We do a lot of silly things in Hawai'i," he said. "It's crazy, yet it doesn't shock me anymore the way the government works here."
Senate Minority Floor Leader J. Kalani English, D-5th (Kahului, Upcountry Maui), said he was skeptical of the $5 million to $8 million cost estimate.
"I'd be interested to see how Brian Minaai comes to those numbers," English said. "I've heard everything from $200,000 to $1 million and now whatever this number is. Frankly, I don't believe any of it until I see the methodology that they'll use and what the contract says."
If paid, the money would have to come from a $5 million revolving fund the department set up for the program, which was supposed to be self-sustaining with ticket revenues once it was fully running. Any additional money would have to be authorized by the Legislature.
End came quickly
The surprisingly quick demise of the unpopular program began late Tuesday night when the state House, which previously proposed to fix flaws in the program, voted unanimously to repeal the van cam enabling legislation, putting it in line with the state Senate and leaving Cayetano with little option but to halt camera operations.
"The traffic van cam law is the creation of the Legislature, and if they want to now cancel the program, it will be canceled," Cayetano said in a statement yesterday.
Rep. Charles Djou, R-47th (Kahalu'u, Kane'ohe), an early opponent of the cameras, said the quick House turnaround came amid indications the program was losing support in the executive and judiciary branches of the government.
Djou said Cayetano had indicated that he would not veto a repeal bill, and reports were circulating in the House that a state district judge was about to invalidate a key portion of the camera law.
"So there was a very good chance the program was going to get tossed anyway, and the House Democrats would be basically left alone trying to defend it," Djou said. "It was a classic case of an election year political flip-flop."
Final vote tonight
The House is scheduled to vote for a third and final time tonight on the repeal bill, which makes no mention of retroactively invalidating tickets already issued. The bill then goes to Cayetano, who has indicated he will let it become law without his signature after 10 days.
Until then, the camera program remains legally in place — even though no more tickets will be issued — and state judiciary officials warned people who have received citations to treat them as valid.
"My own opinion is they can't prosecute anybody under a law that has been repealed," said defense attorney Michael Kam, who has been active in fighting the citations. "All the cases then should be null and void, but we'll have to wait to see what happens."
District Judge Leslie Hayashi is expected to rule soon on a defense motion that challenged a key element of the program which allowed the prosecution to "presume" the registered owner of the car was driving the vehicle at the time of the violation.
The photographs do not identify the driver.
Started on Jan. 2, the program generated 16,858 citations through the end of March, resulting in $321,000 in billings from ACS, Minaai said.
Unpopular from the start
From its inception the program ran into a buzzsaw of community opposition, making it the No. 1 topic on talk radio shows and in letters-to-the-editor columns for weeks. Opponents objected to program on nearly every ground from invasion of privacy to increasing insurance premiums to the pay-per-ticket way ACS was compensated.
By far the biggest objection came from drivers who were cited for speeding at less than 10 mph over the limit. Even after state district judges began dismissing those tickets, the Transportation Department continued to set a citation threshold of 6 mph over the limit, angering thousands of people who believed they were driving safely at just a little bit above the speed limit.
"We felt we were enforcing the speed limits in a reasonable manner," Minaai said yesterday.
Despite the vocal opposition, Minaai said the program had the support of a silent majority of Hawai'i residents and had been successful in slowing drivers.
"A lot of people expressed their support for it. Even those who had some candid criticism about some aspects, supported the overall intent of the program," Minaai said.
"I'm personally disappointed," he said. "I thought the program was working. Traffic was noticeably slower."
He said there were no traffic fatalities on state roads during the period the program was operated.
Other solutions in works
Minaai said state officials now will rely on other traffic safety measures, including more speed bumps, flashing trailers which show a driver's speed, and other solutions. A promised study on increasing speed limits in some areas should be ready for the Legislature by the end of this week, he said.
Meanwhile, two of the program's staunchest supporters in the Legislature indicated they are interested in a future proposal for a traffic camera program targeting drivers who run red lights at intersections.
Senate Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations Chairman Cal Kawamoto, D-19th (Waipahu, Pearl City), said he wants to propose a red-light camera program next session.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Souki, D-8th (Waiehu, Ma'alaea, Napili), also hinted that lawmakers may revisit the issue after this session.
But Djou said state officials need to work hard to regain the public's trust before beginning any new traffic camera program.
"It might be possible, but it's going to take a lot of education to the public," he said.
Advertiser reporters Dan Nakaso and Lynda Arakawa contributed to this report.
