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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina Establishes Automated Speed Camera Pilot Program in Highway Work Zones with $250 Penalties
Last action · April 14, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Maria Cervania and 6 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina authorizes the Department of Transportation to operate automated speed-measuring systems in up to 25 highway work zones simultaneously, assessing $250 civil penalties for speeding violations starting October 1, 2025.
Vehicle owners face $250 civil fines for work zone speeding captured by cameras unless they submit an affidavit identifying the driver or reporting a stolen vehicle within 30 days.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Registered vehicle owners
Registered owners are legally responsible for paying a $250 civil penalty if their vehicle is recorded speeding by an automated system in a work zone, unless they submit an affidavit naming the driver or reporting the vehicle stolen.
Department of Transportation
The Department is authorized to acquire, operate, and maintain up to 25 electronic speed-measuring systems, establish signage and calibration standards, issue violation notices, and report annually to the General Assembly.
Division of Motor Vehicles
The Division must receive owner affidavits, process default penalties, and establish an administrative nonjudicial hearing process to review challenges to assessments.
Local school administrative units
Local school administrative units receive monetary allocations from the Civil Penalty Litigation Fund on a per-pupil basis to be expended in accordance with the State School Technology Fund.
Key Facts
- The Department of Transportation is authorized to use electronic speed-measuring systems to detect speed limit violations in State-maintained highway work zones.
- The Secretary of Transportation may designate no more than 25 work zones at one time throughout the State to pilot the program.
- The civil penalty for a speeding violation detected by an automated system is $250.00, and no driver license or insurance points are assigned.
- Local governments are strictly prohibited from operating electronic speed-measuring systems under this act.
Show all 11 facts
- The Department of Transportation must post a conspicuous warning sign not more than 1,000 feet from the location of the automated system.
- The registered owner of the vehicle is responsible for the penalty unless they submit a sworn affidavit within 30 days identifying the driver or reporting the vehicle stolen.
- Failure to pay or respond within 30 days waives the right to contest and adds a $125.00 civil penalty.
- Seventy-five percent (75%) of collected civil penalties are paid into the Civil Penalty Litigation Fund, and twenty-five percent (25%) are paid to the State Public School Fund.
- The act appropriates $100,000 in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to the Office of State Budget and Management for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to implement the pilot.
- The Secretary of Transportation must report annually to specified legislative committees beginning no later than May 1, 2026.
- The act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and expires on October 1, 2030.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who receives the speeding ticket notice if caught by an automated speed camera?
Can local city or county governments set up these speed-measuring cameras?
Will a camera-detected speeding violation put points on my driver's license or insurance?
What happens if a law enforcement officer pulls me over and cites me in the same work zone?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 14, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 14, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 10, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Automated Speed Enforcement
The legislation marks a shift by authorizing automated camera enforcement for speed limits on State-maintained highways while explicitly barring local governments from operating similar systems.
Civil Penalty Allocation to School Technology
Fines collected from automated work zone speeding tickets are routed through a newly created Civil Penalty Litigation Fund to support local school technology initiatives.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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