Bill
SB 1251
Allows dismissal of administrative parking/standing and automated-enforcement citations if the notice misstates the state registration number or vehicle make.
Status summary
- Subject: Amendments to vehicle-adjudication rules to create a dismissal ground when certain vehicle-identifying information is incorrect.
- Jurisdiction/texts in the filing: Primary vehicle-code text appears to be from Illinois (amends 625 ILCS 5/11‑208.3). The file also contains unrelated Arizona statutory text about groundwater long‑term storage credits; see “Note on document” below.
- Introduced (Illinois text): Jan. 24, 2025 (Sen. Dan McConchie listed in that text); filing here lists other sponsors and procedural entries from 2025. Companion: HB 3448.
- Effective date (as drafted in the Illinois text): immediate upon enactment.
Overview / main purpose
SB 1251 would amend the administrative-adjudication provisions for standing, parking, compliance, automated traffic law, and automated speed‑enforcement violations so that a citation may be dismissed if the state registration number or vehicle make specified on the violation notice is incorrect. The bill clarifies notice-content rules and creates a concrete ground for dismissal tied to misidentification of the vehicle on the notice.
Key provisions
- Grounds for dismissal: The bill provides that an administrative citation for a standing, parking, compliance, automated speed enforcement system, or automated traffic‑law violation shall be dismissible if the state registration number or vehicle make specified on the violation notice is incorrect.
- Notice content requirements (existing provisions restated/retained): A municipal or county administrative notice must include date/time/place, regulation violated, fine and penalties, hearing instructions, and vehicle identifying information (state registration number and vehicle make or a photograph).
- For automated enforcement notices, vehicle make must be specified if a photograph is not included and the make is “available and readily discernible.”
- Scope: Applies to municipal and county administrative adjudication systems for parking/standing/compliance and automated traffic law enforcement.
- Remedies/administration: The bill operates within existing local administrative adjudication frameworks (traffic compliance administrators, notice and service procedures, hearing rights), adding the incorrect-registration/vehicle‑make issue as a basis for dismissal.
Who would be affected
- Motorists/vehicle owners: Increased opportunity to contest and potentially obtain dismissal of administrative citations when the ticket misidentifies registration number or vehicle make.
- Municipalities/counties and traffic adjudication administrators: Must ensure accuracy of registration and make data on citations and may see increased dismissal requests; automated enforcement vendors/technicians may need tighter verification procedures.
- Automated enforcement programs: Potentially greater evidentiary/quality-control burden to avoid dismissals due to misidentification.
Potential impacts
- Administrative/fiscal: Possible reduction in citation collections if misidentifications lead to more dismissals; administrative workload could increase for verification and for processing contested notices.
- Operational: Municipalities may revise evidence-gathering and notification procedures (e.g., ensure photographs accompany automated notices or double-check registration/make data).
- Legal/evidentiary: Strengthens an objective ground for dismissal tied to concrete errors in the notice; may raise standards for the accuracy of automated and manual citation issuance.
Procedural / timeline notes (from the filing)
- Illinois text: Introduced Jan. 24, 2025; referred to assignments (and to committees per local practice). Companion HB 3448 exists.
- If enacted as drafted, the amendment would be effective immediately.
Note on document contents
The file supplied appears to contain two unrelated bill texts merged together:
- The vehicle-code text summarized above (Illinois, amending 625 ILCS 5/11‑208.3).
- A separate Arizona bill that amends A.R.S. §45‑852.01 (long‑term groundwater storage accounts), including changing the percentage of recoverable stored water credited to long‑term storage accounts (text shows replacement of “ninety‑five” with “seventy” percent and other crediting rules). That Arizona water‑storage text is unrelated to the VEH CD — dismissal topic and should be treated as a separate bill. If you want a separate summary of the Arizona groundwater text, I can prepare one.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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