To amend sections 131.02, 715.013, 4303.26, 4501.06, 4511.092, 4511.096, 4511.0911, 5703.052, 5703.053, 5703.19, 5703.263, 5703.50, 5703.70, and 5703.77 and to enact sections 4787.01, 4787.02, 4787.03, 4787.04, 4787.05, 4787.06, 4787.99, 5755.01, 5755.02, 5755.03, 5755.04, 5755.05, 5755.06, 5755.07, 5755.071, 5755.08, 5755.09, 5755.10, 5755.11, 5755.12, 5755.13, 5755.14, and 5755.99 of the Revised Code to license companies that sell, provide, install, or otherwise manage traffic law photo-monitoring devices in Ohio and to levy a tax on such companies' gross receipts from municipal contracts.
SB213 creates a new regulatory and tax framework for companies that sell, rent, provide, install, repair, or otherwise manage traffic law photo-monitoring devices in Ohio. The bill requires these companies, defined as “traffic camera dealers,” to obtain a license from the Department of Commerce’s Division of Industrial Compliance, submit detailed ownership and business information, maintain bonding or insurance, and comply with operational and reporting requirements. It also imposes a $100,000 licensing fee per device and authorizes the Department of Public Safety to conduct monthly calibration testing, with additional per-test fees charged to the dealer.
The bill also establishes a new 8% tax on traffic camera revenue received under municipal contracts beginning January 1, 2026. That tax is administered by the Tax Commissioner, with registration, quarterly filing, refund, assessment, collection, and enforcement provisions modeled on other state tax chapters. Revenue from the tax is deposited into a new traffic camera receipts fund and then transferred to the state post-traumatic stress disorder fund after refunds and administrative costs are paid. The bill further ties compliance with the new licensing and tax system to other state processes, including permit transfers and collection actions, and makes violations subject to civil penalties and criminal sanctions.
SB213 would add a new chapter to the Revised Code governing traffic camera dealers and a new gross-receipts-style tax chapter for traffic camera revenue. It would amend multiple existing statutes to incorporate the new license and tax into state tax collection, refund, enforcement, liquor permit transfer, and motor vehicle fund provisions. The bill would also create new administrative duties for the Department of Commerce, the Department of Public Safety, the Tax Commissioner, and the Attorney General, while affecting municipal contracts with traffic camera vendors and the vendors themselves.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented debate or vote history to gauge support or opposition. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to impose substantial regulation and revenue extraction on traffic camera vendors, suggesting a policy approach that is skeptical of automated traffic enforcement and focused on oversight, compliance, and state revenue generation.
The likely points of contention are the bill’s high licensing fee, the new 8% tax on municipal traffic camera revenue, and the expanded state oversight of a business model used by municipalities for automated enforcement. Municipalities that rely on photo-enforcement contracts may object to the added cost and administrative burden, while traffic camera dealers are likely to oppose the licensing, calibration, reporting, and penalty provisions. Supporters would likely frame the bill as consumer protection, accountability, and a way to fund PTSD treatment services for public safety officers, but no explicit stakeholder positions are included in the record provided.