Nassau Democrats propose legislation to refund red-light camera fees add protections for drivers
A decade's worth of administrative fees tagged onto red light camera violations in Nassau County might be put back into your bank account.
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Nassau County's Democratic legislators unveiled a plan that, if approved, would retroactively refund drivers charged administrative fees on top of red light camera tickets.
The Fair Fees Accountability Act would permanently eliminate all unlawful red-light camera fees, establish a fund to repay overcharged drivers and create an oversight committee to prevent future abuses.
The push comes after a state appeals court unanimously ruled the fees in both Nassau and Suffolk counties were excessive and illegal.
Suffolk County, which dropped its fees in 2023, ended the program last week.
In Nassau, the fees tacked onto the ticket totaled $100. Much higher than the ticket itself.
Lawmakers said it would likely cost the county hundreds of millions of dollars to make overcharged drivers whole. Democrats recommended reallocating federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds which would be distributed over a five year period.
Unlike Suffolk County, lawmakers said they don't have plans to get rid of the red-light camera program which was just renewed for five more years earlier this year.
The county confirmed it dropped the fees last week in response to the court ruling but didn't comment on what it planned to do with the millions it collected over the years.
Drivers who spoke with News 12 expressed support for the legislation.
"That’ll be really nice because at the end of the day when you think about it, you have other expenses," Hempstead resident Herzan Watson said.
“It’s ridiculous," Massapequa resident Joe Wisniewski said. "Don’t they get enough money with your taxes?”
A spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman responded to the proposal in a statement: “It is incredibly dishonest that Democratic Minority Leader Delia Deriggi-Whitton, who led the fight to increase red light camera fees [in 2015], now wants to punish the taxpayers for her mistakes.”
Nassau County presiding officer Howard Kopel tells News 12 the proposal is “reckless” and said it would “destroy” the county’s budget. When asked if he would consider bringing the legislation in front of the full legislature for discussion, he said “we’re not going to do that.”
