NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CBS News) – A Republican Tennessee lawmaker says getting a traffic camera ticket isn’t a problem — he just burns them.

State Rep. Andy Holt set such ticket ablaze on Wednesday and posted the video to Facebook. A news release issued in conjunction with the Facebook video urges others who are issued traffic camera tickets in Tennessee to ignore them.

“What do you do if you get one? Throw it in the trash. Personally, I prefer to burn mine,” he said.

Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said in an email Thursday to the Knoxville News Sentinel that might not be a good idea. He called Holt’s advice unsound.

“No one likes to be caught violating traffic offenses, regardless of how they are caught, but they have a legal obligation to properly address it. Burning a citation or throwing it away is an emotional response that may feel good, but it does not make the violation and accountability go away,” Rausch said.

Holt, a longtime critic of traffic camera tickets who repeatedly has called for banning them outright in Tennessee, was joined by state Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, this year in sponsoring a bill, HB2510, that requires all citations resulting from a traffic camera video to include this notice:

“Nonpayment of this (citation) cannot adversely affect your credit score or report, driver’s license, and/or automobile insurance rates.”

The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and by a 92-2 vote in the House. It took effect when signed by Gov. Bill Haslam on April 27.

Holt said in pushing the measure that the new notice simply makes those drivers getting the tickets aware of what state law already says — that traffic camera tickets are not reported to insurance companies or credit agencies and have no impact on the state’s “points” system for keeping track of traffic violations issued directly by law enforcement officers. Drivers accumulating enough points can face extra penalties, including suspension of a license.

Rausch, the current president of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, voiced concern about the bill when it was pending in the Legislature earlier this year. He and Maggi Duncan, the lobbyist for the association, told a reporter then the bill implies there are no consequences for ignoring a citation.

Legally speaking, the camera citations are treated as a civil penalty, not as a misdemeanor criminal offense as when an officer directly writes a ticket. The maximum civil penalty is $50. If the penalty goes unpaid, Rausch and Duncan said, collection efforts can be pursued, just as with any other unpaid debt.

Holt contends the companies operating traffic cameras under contract with Tennessee cities are themselves violating a provision of state law that says only a commissioned law enforcement officer can review video or photos of drivers running red lights or speeding to determine whether any violation occurs.