OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 140 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 140’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Rep. Brown
Effective Date:
Larry Gunter, Jr., Research Analyst
SUMMARY
Penalty enhancements for failure to stop for a school bus
 Enhances the penalty for failing to stop for a stopped school bus by increasing the base
fine from $500 to $1,000 and increasing the possible license suspension from a period of
up to one year to a period of three months to two years.
 Establishes new penalties for failing to stop for a stopped school bus if the offender
committed a prior violation within a five-year period by imposing either a $2,000 fine, a
suspension of six months to three years, or both.
School bus cameras
 Requires the Department of Public Safety, with the advice of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, to adopt rules for the construction and design of school bus camera
equipment that provides an image or video of a motorist who violates the law that
prohibits passing a stopped school bus.
 Clarifies that school districts may install these cameras on a school bus solely for the
purpose of capturing an image or video of a motor vehicle operator who violates the law
on passing a stopped school bus.
 Allows law enforcement to use this image or video (as long as it is sufficiently clear) to
determine the identity of the offender.
Stopped-school-bus graphic
 Requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to create and issue a graphic on a printed card
to each deputy registrar location – the graphic must instruct drivers to stop and yield to
a stopped school bus that is either loading or unloading passengers.
 Requires each deputy registrar to display the card in a prominent place at all times.
April 4, 2023
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Penalty enhancements for failure to stop for a school bus
Background
Under current law, a driver must stop for a school bus when both of the following apply:
1. The driver meets or overtakes the school bus, from either direction; and
2. The school bus is picking up or dropping off a school child, a child attending a Head Start
program, or a person attending programs offered by a community board of mental
health or a county board of developmental disabilities.
The driver must stop at least ten feet from the bus. And, the driver may not proceed
until either the bus moves, or the bus driver signals the driver to proceed. If a highway is
divided into four or more lanes, and a driver approaches a school bus from the opposite
direction, the driver does not have to stop.1
When a bus driver believes that a motorist has committed this offense (by failing to
properly stop), the driver must report the license plate number and a general description of the
vehicle and motorist to a law enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency must then
attempt to determine the motorist’s identity.2
Currently, a driver who violates this requirement may be fined up to $500, and the court
may impose a class seven driver’s license suspension (not to exceed one year). The court also
must assess two points on the offender’s license. In addition, both of the following apply to an
offender:
1. A person who is issued a citation may not enter a guilty plea and waive the person’s
right to contest the citation in trial; instead, the person must appear in person before
the court; and
2. If an offender’s license is suspended, the offender must deliver the license to the proper
court, and the court must forward the license to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. 3
Penalties under the bill
The bill increases the base penalty, from $500 to $1,000, for the offense of failing to
stop for a school bus. It also increases the possible suspension to a class six driver’s license
suspension (a definite period of three months to two years). If the offender commits the
1 R.C. 4511.75(A) and (C).
2 R.C. 4511.751.
3 R.C. 4510.02, not in the bill; R.C. 4510.036 and 4511.75(F).
P a g e |2 H.B. 140
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
offense within five years of a prior violation, the court must assess four points on the offender’s
license4 and either, or both, of the following:
1. A fine of up to $2,000; and
2. A class five driver’s license suspension (six months to three years).5
School bus cameras
Current law neither specifically authorizes nor prohibits the use of cameras placed on a
school bus to capture an image or video of a motorist who passes a stopped school bus that is
loading or unloading passengers. But, there is a provision stating that certain traffic camera
laws do not apply to traffic cameras placed on buses for this purpose. Thus, the Revised Code
recognizes that school bus operators might use these cameras.6
The bill requires the Department of Public Safety, with the advice of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, to adopt rules relating to the construction and design of camera
equipment that provides an image, images, or video solely for the purposes of capturing a
motorist who passes a stopped school bus.7
Additionally, when a bus driver believes that a motorist has committed the offense of
failing to stop and contacts law enforcement, the bill allows the bus driver to corroborate the
bus driver’s information with an image, images, or video provided by the camera. The law
enforcement agency may use that camera’s image, images, or video to determine the identity
of the violating motorist, but only if the image, images, or video are sufficiently clear. 8
Stopped-school-bus graphic
The bill requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to create and issue a graphic on a
printed card that instructs drivers to stop and yield to a stopped school bus that is either
loading or unloading passengers. The Registrar must distribute the graphic to each deputy
registrar location. Each deputy registrar must display the card at all times in a prominent place
on the deputy’s premises.9
4 R.C. 4510.036(C)(12).
5 R.C. 4511.75(F).
6 R.C. 4511.0913, not in the bill.
7 R.C. 4511.76.
8 R.C. 4511.751.
9 R.C. 4503.03(D)(1)(o).
P a g e |3 H.B. 140
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 03-28-23
ANHB0140IN-135/ks
P a g e |4 H.B. 140
As Introduced