TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Traffic ticket quotas for law enforcement agencies would be illegal under a bill passed by the Florida Legislature.
The House unanimously passed the so-called “Waldo Bill” (SB 264) on Wednesday and sent it to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott. The Senate had previously approved the bill.
The bill's nickname comes from the city of Waldo on heavily travelled U.S. 301, once considered one of the nation's worst speed traps. In 2014, Waldo police officers disclosed a quota system and it was reported that tickets accounted for nearly half of the city's revenue. The police force has since been disbanded.
The bill also requires a city or county to report to state officials if traffic ticket revenue exceeds a third of the cost of operating its law enforcement agency.