COLUMBUS — Ohio senators may intervene in agreements that cities such as Toledo have struck with private companies to operate red-light cameras, possibly setting statewide standards on how revenue could be raised and spent.

Members of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee raised concerns yesterday that cities may be using enforcement cameras as revenue generators and that private companies such as Redflex Traffic Systems, which operates Toledo's program, have access to vehicle owners' personal information.

The committee has before it a House-passed bill that would deal a near-fatal blow to local governments' use of cameras to catch red-light runners and speeders by requiring that police officers be present at intersections to witness violations and personally hand drivers' tickets.

So far, the state has stayed out of the way as local communities used their home-rule authority to adopt red-light camera programs, typically using private companies to install and operate the digital cameras in exchange for hefty shares of the fines collected.

“Until cities can demonstrate that red-light cameras are used for enforcement and accident reduction, and not revenue generation, and until we can guarantee that the operator of the vehicle, and not the owner, is held responsible, we must support passage of House Bill 56,” said Ric Oxender, lobbyist for the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs.

While backers also expressed interest in statewide standards, they argued that requiring police officers to be present to witness violations negates the cameras' benefits.

Redflex, an Arizona subsidiary of an Australian firm, installs and operates the cameras in exchange for 75 percent of the $95 fines. The city's share was $290,700 last year, while Redflex received $800,000.

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