(News/Talk 1480 WHBC) – A law erasing cities’ profits from operating traffic cameras has taken effect in Ohio.

The law reduces state funding for any city, town or village operating red light or speed cameras by an amount equivalent to the fines collected.

Supporters of the law say they wanted to test the theory that traffic cameras are meant to prevent crashes and not to boost municipal budgets.

The law also prohibits operation of traffic cameras on interstate highways and requires all appeals of tickets received through camera technology to be heard in court rather than by an administrative officer.

The City of Canton doesn’t use traffic cameras to issue citations but does have some that are used for traffic counts and engineering purposes.