A school bus camera grant program, a school bus safety camera surcharge, owner liability for illegally passing a school bus, and providing a penalty. (FE)

Current law generally requires the driver of a vehicle approaching a school bus that is stopped on a highway and that is displaying flashing red warning lights to stop the vehicle not less than 20 feet from the bus and to remain stopped until the bus resumes motion or the school bus operator extinguishes the flashing red warning lights.

Current law also imposes liability on the owner of a vehicle that fails to stop as required for a school bus displaying flashing red warning lights (failure-to-stop violation). If a school bus operator observes a failure-to-stop violation, the school bus operator may prepare a written report that includes specified information.

Within 24 hours after the violation, the school bus operator may deliver this report to a traffic officer of the county or municipality in which the failure-to-stop violation occurred. Within 48 hours after receiving the report, the traffic officer may prepare a uniform traffic citation for the owner of the vehicle that failed to stop.

Under this bill, if a school bus is equipped with a photographic or video system and the owner or operator of the bus believes that a failure-to-stop violation is demonstrated by a recording made by the photographic or video system, the owner or operator may prepare and deliver a report to a traffic officer of the county or municipality in which the failure-to-stop violation occurred. The officer may then prepare a uniform traffic citation for the owner of the vehicle that failed to stop.

This bill also extends the period in which a report of a failure-to-stop violation may be made from 24 hours after the violation to 72 hours after the violation and extends the period in which a traffic officer may prepare a traffic violation from 48 hours after receiving a report to five days after receiving a report.

In general, it is not a defense to owner liability that the owner of the vehicle was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. Current law, however, provides several defenses for imposing liability for which the identity of the party operating the vehicle is a relevant consideration, including a defense under which the owner has provided a traffic officer with the name and address of the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation and the person admits to operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. This bill mitigates the applicable penalty if the state is unable to demonstrate that the owner was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. Specifically, if the state is unable to make this showing, the minimum and maximum forfeiture amounts are half of the minimum and maximum forfeiture amounts that would otherwise be imposed.

This bill also creates a school bus safety camera surcharge. Under the bill, each person who is convicted of a failure-to-stop violation must pay a $200 surcharge in addition to any forfeiture and other surcharges, fees, and costs imposed as a result of the violation.