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Legislation filed by Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, would put the brakes on the cameras, which automatically snap digital photos of those entering intersections after a traffic signal has turned to red. Typically, a copy of the picture and a ticket is then mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner.

The proposed ban marks a more than decade-long push by lawmakers to kill the cameras, which critics say are unconstitutional and potentially lead to more rear-end accidents.

Supporters say using the cameras at dangerous intersections deters unsafe driving.

In ºüÀêÊÓƵ, renewed talks about the cameras have stalled amid disputes over how using the technology might affect law enforcement officials.

Aldermanic President Megan Green wants a red-light camera bill to be paired with another requiring aldermanic review — plus approval of all police surveillance tools, from cameras to artificial intelligence. She believes such provisions could guard against misuse.

Aides to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones are wary of the additional requirements sought by Green, leaving the issue in limbo heading into 2024.

Schroer has frequently been at loggerheads with the ºüÀêÊÓƵ mayor over crime-related issues.

Earlier this year, Schroer unsuccessfully pushed for a state takeover of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Metropolitan Police Department. He also locked horns with Jones in 2021 over efforts to divert more police funds into mental health treatment and services for people who are unhoused.

Schroer said he is still concerned about diverting money to social services.

“Instead of wasting tax dollars on cameras that didn’t stop crime previously, the mayor needs to restore the millions taken from the patrol budget over the past couple years. Having our streets saturated with trained police officers in a community policing fashion has been proven to be one of the best and most impactful measures to deter crime,� Schroer said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch.

Safer streets have been a focus for the mayor’s office since it grappled with a deadly summer for pedestrians and cyclists last year that saw two people killed around the South Grand business district and two more hit near the Ted Drewes frozen custard stand on Chippewa Street.

Last year, 78 people were killed on city streets, the second-highest total in two decades.

The city began using red-light cameras in 2007, and officials credited them with significantly reducing the number of drivers blowing through lights and the number of people dying on city streets.

A 2015 Missouri Supreme Court decision forced a statewide shutdown of the devices because it required governments to identify drivers to ticket them, and the city just took pictures of vehicles. Mayors have been seeking a workaround ever since.

At the same time, lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to ban the cameras.

In 2010, former Sen. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, failed to find enough support to get his prohibition through the upper chamber. He tried again in 2012, but his legislation did not advance.

In 2016, the House debated a proposal to ask voters if they want to ban the cameras, but the measure did not make it onto the statewide ballot.

St. Charles County voters approved a charter amendment in 2014 banning the cameras countywide. At the time, St. Peters had been the only city in the county using them. St. Peters and other municipalities challenged the ban, but a state appellate court ruled in 2017 the ban was within the authority given by the state Constitution to counties with home-rule charters.

Currently, Hannibal is the lone Missouri city to still use the cameras, according to the Missouri Municipal League, which advocates on behalf of cities across the state.

The city said it relies on the cameras to help police traffic on the busy U.S. 61 corridor that runs through town.

“Red light cameras help keep our roads safer and allow Hannibal police officers spend their time protecting citizens in other ways,� a Hannibal Police Department statement said.

Richard Sheets, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League, said the issue has not been on the front burner in the Legislature for several years.

“After the 2015 court case, the issue kind of just went away,� Sheets said Monday. “There really hasn’t been a groundswell of people looking to use the cameras or ban the cameras.�

The House and Senate return to action Jan. 4.

The legislation is .