SB861 authorizes the governing body of any locality in Planning District 23 to establish a traffic control device violation monitoring system, which allows imposing monetary liability on the operator of a vehicle for failure to comply with traffic control devices at any intersection deemed by the local governing body to be negatively impacted by traffic due to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Express Lanes Hampton Segment Project.
The Virginia State Assembly passed SB861 on February 21, 2023 by a vote of 55 to 42. The have assigned pluses to the nays because traffic control device monitoring systems may violate due process because it takes away human interaction and presumes people are guilty before proven innocent, a fundamental principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and primarily protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, these systems can be seen as infringing upon the Fourth Amendment, which safeguards individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.