SB 998

This bill creates a school bus camera grant program, imposes a school bus safety

camera surcharge for certain offenses, and allows the use of photographic or video

information to support the issuance of citations for certain traffic violations related

to failure to stop for a school bus that is displaying flashing red warning lights.

Under the bill, DOT must establish and administer a school bus camera grant

program. Under the program, DOT awards two types of grants to school districts for

school bus camera systems cameras and associated image capture and storage

components (camera systems) used for the purpose of capturing evidence of school

bus passing violations. The first type of grant may be used only for the acquisition

and installation of school bus camera systems. For these grants, DOT must prioritize

providing at least one grant to each applicant school district and equipping the

largest number of school buses with camera systems. The second type of grant may

be used for maintenance or replacement of camera systems installed on school buses

or for the acquisition or installation of camera systems on school buses. Grants under

either program may not exceed $5,000 for each school bus to be equipped with a

camera or for each school bus equipped with a camera system to be maintained or

replaced and may not exceed 90 percent of the cost of the project for which the grant

is made.

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