Skip to Content
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Log In
Legislation

Governor’s Budget Bill Would Legalize Speed Limit Enforcement Cameras Statewide

If it's approved, the legislation would take effect on July 1, 2026.

A camera inside a gray metal box mounted to a street light pole next to a "no standing" sign.

An automated speed enforcement camera in Manhattan. Photo by Michael Appleton, courtesy of the NYC Mayor’s Office.

Yesterday, Governor Maura Healey submitted her $62 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 – and along with her spending proposals, the legislation also includes provisions to legalize the use of automated speed enforcement cameras across the state.

The proposed camera enforcement language bears similarities to bills that lawmakers have tried and failed to pass several times before.

Under the Governor's proposal, fines would be relatively modest, there would set strict limits on the use of camera footage, and the bill limits the number of camera enforcement systems to one per 5,000 residents of any city or town.

In any two-year period, drivers would only get a warning for their first violation, no matter how dangerously they were driving.

For subsequent violations, drivers would receive a $25 fine, or a $100 fine for driving more than 25 mph over the posted speed limit.

The limit of one camera per 5,000 residents would allow up to 130 cameras in the City of Boston, 41 in Worcester, 30 in Springfield, and fewer than 10 cameras in smaller cities like Leominster, Chelsea, Pittsfield, and Amherst.

However, the Governor's bill also stipulates that MassDOT would be allowed to deploy an unlimited number of speed cameras in construction work zones. Those cameras would not count toward the population-based limit in any city or town.

The biggest difference between the Governor's proposal and previous efforts is political.

Previous bills to legalize automated enforcement systems have struggled to emerge from the secretive back rooms of the State House to get a public vote.

By including it in her budget bill, Governor Healey is signifying that it's a priority for her administration, and making it much harder for legislative leaders to ignore the idea.

Another difference: lawmakers just passed two other camera enforcement bills for school buses and transit buses with little controversy.

According to the Governor's Highway Safety Association, 19 other states, plus the District of Columbia, have already passed laws that permit the use of speed enforcement cameras. 22 other states allow the use of cameras to enforce traffic signals.

New York City has operated thousands of speed cameras for several years, but until 2022, they had been limited under state law to only issuing fines for violations between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In the year after that state law changed to allow for 24-hour operation, New York City witnessed a 30 percent drop in speeding incidents in zones covered by speed cameras, and a 25 percent reduction in fatal crashes.

If it's approved, the legislation would take effect on July 1, 2026, giving cities and towns a full year to procure equipment and set up their programs.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Roadblocked: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Eliminates Most Federal Funding For Allston Highway Realignment

Without a formal project agreement in place, MassDOT will receive only $8 million out of a $335 million "reconnecting communities" grant that the Biden administration had pledged.

July 10, 2025

Another Bus Lane Bites the Dust: Wu Administration Forces Chelsea, Charlestown Transit Riders to Wait In More Traffic

The change comes just weeks before the MBTA rolls out a new bus lane enforcement system, which is expected to improve bus service considerably – at least on the dwindling number of streets where dedicated bus lanes still exist.

July 8, 2025

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff

The state's final budget gives the T about $80 million less than it had planned to spend in the coming fiscal year to cover its payroll and other transit operating costs.

July 7, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts