ON MARCH 16, 2023, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1281, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to revise present law provisions relative to school buses, as described below.
CAMERAS ON SCHOOL BUSES / FAILING TO STOP UPON APPROACHING A SCHOOL BUS THAT HAS STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY
Present law provides that:
(1) A local education agency (LEA) is authorized to purchase, install, operate, and maintain cameras on the exterior of school buses, or to enter into a contract with a private vendor to purchase, install, operate, and maintain cameras on the exterior of school buses on behalf of the LEA, for the purpose of recording images of motor vehicles that are in violation of the offense for failing to stop upon approaching a school bus;
(2) An LEA that installs cameras on the exterior of school buses is required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement for the preservation of evidence from a camera, and that only POST-certified or state-commissioned law enforcement officers are authorized to review evidence from a camera to determine whether a violation has occurred;
(3)
(A) A first violation of the offense for failing to stop upon approaching a school bus that is based solely upon evidence from a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus is considered a nonmoving traffic violation.
(B) The registered owner of the motor vehicle is responsible for payment of any notice of violation or citation of $200 for a first offense citation issued as the result of evidence from a camera. However, the owner is not responsible for the violation if the owner submits documentation in accordance with provisions governing citations based on unmanned traffic cameras; and
(C) A second or subsequent violation that is based solely upon evidence from a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus is a Class A misdemeanor. However, the state must meet the burden of proof set out in general provisions of present criminal law, and the person charged has no burden to prove innocence.
(4) Notices of violations or citations must be sent in accordance with provisions governing citations based on unmanned traffic cameras to the registered owner of the vehicle that was captured by the camera.
(5) A citation based solely upon evidence obtained from a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus is invalid if the registration information of the motor vehicle for which the citation is issued is not consistent with the evidence recorded by the camera;
(6) The notice of violation or citation must state the date, location, and time of the alleged violation; the amount of the fine being assessed; and the means by which the owner may elect to shift responsibility for the payment of the citation to the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation pursuant to this (6);
(7) 100 percent of the proceeds from any fine that is based solely upon evidence obtained from a school bus camera must be allocated to the LEA without being designated for any particular purpose;
(8) The LEA is authorized to use the proceeds for the purpose of defraying the costs of purchasing, installing, operating, or maintaining the camera, or reimbursing or compensating the vendor with which the LEA contracted regarding the purchase, installation, operation, or maintenance of the camera; and
(9) If the LEA uses the proceeds for the purpose of reimbursing or compensating a vendor with which the LEA contracted regarding the purchase, installation, operation, or maintenance of the camera, then the LEA must create procedures for such reimbursement or compensation and must maintain records of such reimbursement or compensation.
This amendment makes the following changes to (1)-(9) above:
(1) Revises (1) to clarify that an LEA is authorized to enter into a contract with a private vendor to purchase, install, operate, and maintain cameras on the exterior of school buses, whether owned, contracted, or leased by the LEA, and provide other services related to violations of the offense for failing to stop upon approaching a school bus, on behalf of the LEA;
(2) Revises (2) to, instead, require such LEA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement that includes, but is not limited to, the review of evidence from a camera and overall enforcement, and to clarify that school resource officers are also authorized to review evidence from a camera;
(3) Revises (3) as follows:
(A) Adds that in lieu of prosecution for failing to comply with the provision requiring a motor vehicle to stop upon approaching a school bus, where evidence of the offense is based solely from a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus, a person may be issued a notice of violation or citation. However, this does not preclude the state from prosecuting the offense if the state meets its burden of proof;
(B) Revises (B) to, instead, provide that the fine for a first notice of violation or citation under (3) is $250, and the fine for a second or subsequent notice of violation or citation is $500; and
(C) Removes (C);
(4) Adds the following provisions to (4):
(A) Photographs or video produced by a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus are prima facie evidence that the vehicle described in the citation was operated in violation of the law; and
(B) Photographs or video produced by a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus, together with proof that the defendant was the registered owner of the vehicle at the time of the violation, create an inference that the owner of the vehicle was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation. However, the inference may be rebutted if the owner of the vehicle submits documentation in accordance with provisions governing citations based on unmanned traffic cameras;
(5) Adds to (6) that the notice of violation or citation must also include information detailing the process for contesting the citation, including the applicable court having jurisdiction; and
(6) Adds to (1)-(9) that:
(A) For a violation of the offense for failing to stop upon approaching a school bus, there is a presumption that the photographs or video produced by a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus provide evidence that the school bus was stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children; and
(B) Photographs or video produced by a camera that has been installed on the exterior of a school bus depicting such violation must be made available for inspection in any proceeding in which the citation or violation is being contested.
PENALTIES
Present law provides that it is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine of at least $250 and at most $1,000, for any person to fail to comply with the provision requiring a motor vehicle to stop upon approaching a school bus. This amendment provides an exception to this provision stating that a second or subsequent violation is punishable only by a fine of at least $500 and at most $1,000.
This amendment additionally provides that a person who violates the provision requiring a motor vehicle to stop upon approaching a school bus and strikes another person with a vehicle commits a Class E felony. However, the person commits a Class C felony if the striking results in the death of the other person.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 55-8-151(e)(6), 55-8-151