Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Camera creep continues through this session of the General Assembly. A bill authorizing the installation of private vendors' red light cameras at public intersections in the state's larger communities received the approval of the Transportation Committee last month. The legislation and its path showcase everything bad about an especially dangerous junction: where politics, influence and commerce meet money.

Forget what supporters of the legislation say about guarding public safety: This is about money. The private companies that win the contracts to install, operate and enforce the scheme make many millions. The municipalities that award the contracts glom millions from local drivers.

The camera snaps a photo of a car it detects going through a red light. A ticket is issued and the burden of proof is placed on the owner of the car to demonstrate that he or she was not the driver or that there was some other error committed (such as having been part of a funeral procession, as I have written previously).

This is the sort of expansion of government that one would expect to rouse the state's moribund Republicans to rise up. Opposing the intrusion and requirement that the accused prove his innocence should be a natural stimulant on the right. Republican mayors would rather have the money than guard fundamental principals. The office of Republican Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia referred me to his director of operations, who declined to speak to me about the legislation.

Danbury's Mark Boughton announced in his blog that he has "not taken a position on the issue, mainly because I see merit to both sides of the argument." Boughton ran unsuccessfully for governor and lieutenant governor in 2010 by trumpeting his small government credentials. Those evaporate when he hears the sound of a cash registers loading fines into the city treasury at $50 a clip for Danbury and $15 for the camera company.

Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia, also a Republican, is in tough spot. His local ally, House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero (R-Brown Rudnick), is a lawyer at the law firm that represents red light camera giant American Traffic Systems through its lobbying arm. Cafero has insisted at times that he does not even know who his firm's lobbying clients are. That makes observers in the capitol village wonder what he talks about during all the time he spends in plain view with his firm's lobbyists.

Republicans, of course, don't have the numbers or the notable powers of persuasion to pass or stop anything in Connecticut. The Democrats are as bad on this issue. Maybe worse. The cameras will exploit the urban poor who are more likely to be snapped by a camera and less likely to have the resources to fight or pay the fine. This is of no consequence to Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney of New Haven, the lead supporter of the bill.

What's astounding is that in the state where the right to privacy was first recognized, so many Democrats believe drivers must consent to camera surveillance by the simple act of operating a motor vehicle on many public streets. Attorney General George Jepsen, who made a career shielding some from government intrusion, finds his voice stilled as he canters away from the field of battle.

We'll soon see if urban legislators are willing to protect their constituents from this disproportionate penalty. Don't count on it. There's another temptation out there that has received little attention. Companies engage in a fierce competition to win camera contracts in municipalities. The stakes are high, the rewards plentiful.

Companies want the contracts. They may need some help from influential local political figures to get them. There is almost no regulation of municipal lobbying in Connecticut. In some parts of the country, shadowy figures who help secure red light camera contracts receive a slice of the enormous pie.

In Connecticut, we might never know who is chowing down on a red light camera contract. It could be someone who serves in state government and helped pass the legislation now threatening the Constitution State. It could be a legislator whose law firm gets hired to prepare a bid or negotiate a contract. With millions in play, they will find a way.