Hate speed cameras? Grab a pen.
A group that is against speed cameras is trying to overturn a new Maryland law permitting their use statewide.
“We believe the majority of citizens do not want them,” said Daniel Zubairi, a Bethesda businessman and former Republican congressional candidate who is helping circulate a petition seeking a 2010 voter referendum on whether to overturn the measure.
Zubairi’s group, Maryland for Responsible Enforcement, already has more than 1,000 members on its Facebook page. More than 600 people have signed up for e-mail alerts, Zubairi said.
“It’s been pretty viral in the week that we started this,” Zubairi said.
State officials must approve the effort before it can begin officially, however. The group has to resubmit its petition because its first version didn’t include all the necessary information.
Speed cameras are allowed only in Montgomery County. But the General Assembly passed legislation earlier this month expanding the use of speed cameras to work and school zones throughout the state. Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected to sign the measure.
Any potential referendum wouldn’t undo the 2006 law that allowed Montgomery County to use speed cameras, said Jared DeMarinis, director of candidacy for the state Board of Elections.
The new legislation would go into effect Oct. 1 and would fine speeders $40 if they’re caught going 12 mph or more over the speed limit.
Advocates of speed cameras said they were an effective tool for reducing accidents and provide much-needed funding for public safety initiatives.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is proposing to double the number of fixed speed cameras in the county from 30 to 60, a move that the county expects would net a total of about $16 million to spend on the county’s gang unit, family crimes division and other public safety initiatives, such as pedestrian safety.
Critics of speed cameras said they lead authorities to presume guilt before innocence and generate revenues that are essentially “backdoor” taxes.
Sen. Alexander Mooney, a Frederick Republican and critic of speed cameras, praised the petition effort, saying it would provide the Marylanders “veto power” over bad legislation.
“Sometimes we do things the people don’t want,” Mooney said, adding that he plans to start a club for people who can raise $1,000 and 1,000 signatures for the petition.
If the state approves the petition, Zubairi’s group would need 53,000 signatures from registered Maryland voters by June 30 to put the referendum on the 2010 ballot.
