Monday marked a shift in Minnesota's approach to road safety as the state Senate gave the green light to a bill that could lead to Big Brother watching your speedometer. The Transportation, Housing, and Labor Budget Bill, includes a controversial pilot program for speed safety camera enforcement, written by Senator Zaynab Mohamed (DFL-Minneapolis), which aims to put the brakes on speeding drivers.

According to senatedfl.mn, the speed camera initiative, passed by a narrow margin of 36-31, is set to run from August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2029. It's aimed at metropolitan areas including Minneapolis, Mendota Heights, and one yet-to-be-determined city or county outside the metro. The Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety are heading up the program, which could come to a neighborhood near you if you're within the right zip code.

Latching onto a spike in tragic incidents and a troubling rise in speeding data, Senator Mohamed is steering Minnesota toward a solution that focuses on prevention. "The uptick in traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities cannot continue," she told senatedfl.mn. The senator emphasizes the program's goal to amend the speeding behaviors that lead to these accidents rather than punishing drivers after the fact.

Before the first flash of a camera, the state plans to educate the public about the new road rules. Getting tagged by a camera could mean a slap on the wrist with warnings or a fine between $40-$80, and some may have to sit through traffic safety courses. The bill also includes, "robust protections for Minnesotans’ civil liberties and privacy," aiming to address concerns that the watchful eyes of state-run cameras could overreach.

Now that it's cleared the Senate, the Transportation, Labor, and Housing supplemental budget bill faces its next challenge in the conference committee.