MONTGOMERY — Members of the House and Senate passed legislation on Thursday creating a pilot program that would install a speed limit camera system in a highway construction zone.
The bill passed the Senate in March by a 25-3 margin. However, the House had been more reluctant to approve the legislation. The House version of the bill by State Rep. Mike Kirkland (R-Scottsboro) failed in March to garner the 60% support needed to pass the budget isolation resolution before a vote on the bill could occur. The House passed the Senate version of the bill on Tuesday but added an amendment removing $250 civil fines for speeding in a highway construction zone. A conference committee of members of the House and Senate added those fines back into the legislation on Wednesday.
The bill by State Sen. Josh Carnley (R-Ino) would establish the Alabama Work Zone Safety Act as a pilot program subject to automatic sunset in 2028 to authorize the Alabama Department of Transportation and Alabama Toll Road, Bridge, and Tunnel Authority to procure, install and operate an automated photographic speed enforcement system in one segment of interstate highway declared to be a work zone.
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) would be required to prepare a report that studies whether the pilot program is effective in increasing the safety of work zones.
The bill would authorize ALEA to procure and use a "photographic speed enforcement device" in a work zone on the public highways of the state. The bill would establish a process for the issuance and enforcement of civil traffic citations to the owners of motor vehicles recorded exceeding 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit in a work zone.
According to the bill, speeding violations under the act would be punished by a civil fine of $250.
“My hope is that we don’t generate any revenue. It’s to slow people down to get them to at least be aware that there are people’s lives at risk in these places. I mentioned in the House committee 24 lives were lost in work zones in 2023. My goal is to try to have these workers go home and be safe,” Carnley said during the conference committee on Wednesday.
The bill passed the House by a 76-23 margin with four abstentions on Thursday.
It passed the Senate by a 30-1 margin with only State Sen. Wes Kitchens (R-Arab) voting against the bill. Thursday is the last day of the 2026 legislative session.
The bill now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey for her consideration.
Members of the conference committee on Wednesday were Carnley, Kirkland, State Sen. Merika Coleman (D-Birmingham), State Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield), State Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-Phenix City), and House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville).
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