Iowa lawmaker Brad Zaun continues his crusade against traffic cameras

DES MOINES — State Sen. Brad Zaun does not always fit into the neatest of political or ideological profiles.

To be clear, Zaun, of Urbandale, is a Republican through and through. He votes with his party a vast majority of the time. He was one of the earliest supporters of Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, and remains a staunch Trump supporter.

But on some issues, Zaun thinks outside what some may believe to be the traditional Republican box.

Zaun has been a vocal supporter of Iowa’s limited medical marijuana program, and he was a vocal participant in the discussion around social justice in summer 2020 after George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police — just to name a couple of issues he embraced more willingly than many of his fellow Republicans.

Another issue that Zaun steps far out of the ideological shadow: traffic cameras.

Automated traffic cameras are Zaun’s white whale. He has spent years pushing legislation that would regulate or — his preference — ban them. Every year, Zaun gets a bill through the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee that he chairs; every year the proposal fails to pass both chambers of the Iowa Legislature and get to the governor’s desk.

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And this year, in his latest attempt to ban traffic cameras, Zaun is attempting to legislate outside the box. He has combined into one bill his proposed traffic camera ban plus what has become known as the hands-free bill — another annual attempt by other state lawmakers to pass a requirement that drivers in Iowa operate mobile devices only through hands-free technology while on the road.

Cedar Rapids installed its first speed cameras in 2010. As of March 2022, at least 19 Iowa cities and towns operated automatic traffic enforcement systems including Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Muscatine, Council Bluffs, Waterloo, LeClaire, Strawberry Point, Hudson, Chester, Buffalo, Miles, Independence and Oelwein, according to a Legislative Services Agency report. Marion added automated traffic cameras in 2023.

Meanwhile, more people died on Iowa roads last year than in each of the past five years. A total of 378 people died in car crashes in Iowa in 2023, a 12 percent increase from 2022. Excessive speed, distracted driving, impaired driving and not wearing seat belts are some of the motorist behaviors that pushed fatalities up.

Law enforcement officials have asked lawmakers in recent years to pass legislation to ban hand-held use of mobile devices while driving in Iowa. Senate File 547 passed overwhelmingly in the Iowa Senate earlier this year, but the House hit the brakes.

The Gazette talked to Zaun about his latest legislative strategy for banning traffic cameras by pairing it with a hands-free proposal — Senate Study Bill 3016. During a subcommittee hearing on the bill last month, relatives of three Iowans killed by drivers distracted by a smartphone pleaded with Zaun to advance a stand-alone bill to bar hand-held use of mobile devices while driving. But the combined proposal was advanced by the panel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The following interview is edited only for length and clarity.

Q: Banning traffic cameras is something you’ve been working on for a number of years. Why did you choose to take this approach this year?

A: I put that together, obviously, trying to move something. And I know there's a huge support for the getting rid of the hands-on as well, although I'm kind of discovering — I shouldn't probably say this — but I will say, I have discovered there's a little bit more, you know, opposition to the hands-free in the House. I was a little surprised. I’m still working on that.

Q: This approach did get some negative feedback during the subcommittee hearing on the bill. Do you think you can build a coalition of support by combining these two issues?

A: The jury's still out on that. I haven’t got around to talk to everybody. It just was an idea that I thought, obviously it’s something that needs to be done in regards to hand-held. And I would just say that there’s just been an explosion in smaller communities this last year with the traffic enforcement cameras. And it’s getting harder and harder for me to pass something because of that. You know, one thing that’s been unique this year is I’ve had a lot of great law enforcement people reach out to me, and they’re mostly talking to me about revenues. And I’ve had several of them say, ‘Hey, how are you going to replace $1 million?’ I’m not going to name the community. And I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, wait. It’s supposed to be about public safety.’ So I certainly understand that there’s some concerns. (I) did the bill a little different this year, gave the cities and governmental agencies another year to budget for it, trying to be a little bit more creative. But we'll see what happens.

Q: And that’s been part of this all along, hasn’t it? Even among those who want to address traffic cameras, the debate between banning them and simply adding more regulations?

A: Well, we’ll see what happens. I’m keeping my options open. You know, you start with an idea. Maybe it has to be amended.

Q: The House, which has been more reluctant to support a traffic camera ban in the past, has taken up a bill similar to yours. Is that a positive sign to you?

A: Yeah, that’s great. I think it’s great. Obviously we have to get something (passed) to stay alive so we can continue the conversation.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com