Senate Bill 2857

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-41-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE "DALEN THOMAS LAW" TO AUTHORIZE ALL SCHOOL BUSES PURCHASED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AFTER 2024 TO BE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATED SCHOOL BUS SAFETY CAMERA AND TO PROVIDE THAT A PHOTOGRAPH OR VIDEO FROM SUCH EQUIPMENT MAY BE USED AS EVIDENCE OF CERTAIN TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS; TO AUTHORIZE A SCHOOL BUS SAFETY EQUIPMENT GRANT PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 63-3-615, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-41-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-41-1. (1) The State Board of Education is authorized, empowered and directed to promulgate rules and regulations relating to the transportation of students enrolled in the public school districts, including rules and regulations for:

(a) Setting standards for public school district bus routes;

(b) Setting standards for public school district buses;

(d) Formulating procedure for selecting public school district bus drivers;

(e) Formulating courses of training for public school district bus drivers and mechanics, and assist in administering and financing such courses;

(f) Providing operation procedure for public school district buses to ensure safety of pupils;

(g) Formulating specifications for use in purchasing public school district buses; getting bids on public school district buses; equipment and supplies; and fixing prices based upon said bids which school districts may not exceed in purchasing said equipment;

(h) Formulating specifications for use by school districts in purchasing used school buses; and

(i) Providing a system of records and reports for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of Sections 37-41-1 through 37-41-51, and providing the superintendent of schools with a sufficient supply of report forms.

(2) All rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Board of Education relating to school district bus drivers shall also be applicable to drivers of privately owned buses transporting public school district children.

All rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Board of Education pursuant to the authority conferred by this section shall be spread at large upon the minutes of the State Board of Education and copies thereof shall be furnished to all school boards not less than thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such rules and regulations.

(3) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as the "Dalen Thomas Automated School Bus Safety Camera Law."

(b) As used in this subsection, "automated school bus safety camera" means a device that is affixed to a school bus and is synchronized to automatically record video or one or more sequenced photographs of a motor vehicle passing a school bus in violation of Section 63-3-615.

(i) Install and operate an automated school bus safety camera on all school buses; and

(ii) May enter into a contract with a private vendor to install and operate the automated school bus safety camera.

(d) A public school district may follow the requirements in paragraph (c) of this subsection (3) for any school bus purchased prior to July 1, 2024.

(e) A public school district that uses automated school bus safety cameras shall provide a video or photograph recorded by an automated school bus safety camera for use as evidence in a criminal or civil proceeding for a violation of an offense under Section 63-3-615 when requested by an investigating law enforcement agency.

(f) All school districts may, in their discretion, develop a policy to train a student twelve (12) years of age or older to be a school bus assistant to assist younger students in loading and unloading the school bus in a safe manner.

(4) The provisions of this chapter are applicable to school districts and the transportation of students enrolled in public school districts. Charter schools authorized by the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board are exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section:

(a) Electronic warning device" means a nine-inch by twenty-four-inch electronic driver alert sign that uses a light-emitting diode (LED) screen and is to be mounted between the two (2) windows of the rear emergency exit door on a Type C bus or immediately below the rear emergency exit window on a Type D bus.

(b) "High-incident route" means a school bus route that has been identified by the school district or the Division of Public School Transportation of the State Department of Education as having a history of repeated and verified incidents of operators of motor vehicles illegally passing the school bus during the loading or unloading of passengers on the school bus route in violation of Section 63-3-615, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(c) (i) "Video-recording device" means a device that includes at least one (1) video camera and a data recording device that is installed on a school bus to capture video or digital images of a violation of Section 63-3-615, Mississippi Code of 1972;

(ii) A video-recording device that is issued under this section shall have specifications and features that allow it to capture video or digital images of at least two (2) of the following:

1. The motor vehicle;

2. The operator of the motor vehicle; or

3. The license plate on the motor vehicle.

(2) (a) The State Department of Education shall create a School Bus Safety Equipment Grant Pilot Program, subject to the appropriation and availability of funding.

(b) The goal of the School Bus Safety Equipment Grant Pilot Program is to provide school districts with video-recording devices or other electronic warning devices for school buses that travel on high-incident routes.

(c) (i) A school district may apply to the State Department of Education for a grant for a video-recording device or electronic warning device for the installation and use on the school district's school buses.

(ii) The division shall award a grant of equipment to a school district to improve the safety of school bus transportation to the school district applicants that are most in need as determined by the following factors:

1. The number of high-incident routes;

2. The number of school bus routes;

3. The type of roads;

4. The number of students transported on school buses; and

5. The size of the school district.

(3) The grant of equipment shall be the video-recording device or electronic warning device purchased by the State Department of Education and may include installation costs.

(4) The school district shall certify to the State Department of Education within forty-five (45) days after receiving the equipment that the equipment was installed according to the division's specifications on a school bus that travels on a high-incident route.

(5) The State Department of Education may promulgate rules for the implementation and administration of this section.

SECTION 3. Section 63-3-615, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-3-615. (1) (a) The driver of a vehicle upon a street or highway upon meeting or overtaking any school bus that has stopped on the street or highway for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children shall come to a complete stop at least ten (10) feet from the school bus before reaching the school bus when there is in operation on the school bus the flashing red lights provided in Section 63-7-23, or when a retractable, hand-operated stop sign is extended; the driver shall not proceed until the children have crossed the street or highway and the school bus has resumed motion or the flashing red lights are no longer actuated and the hand-operated stop sign is retracted.

(b) The driver of a vehicle upon a divided highway that has four (4) lanes or more and permits at least two (2) lanes of traffic to travel in opposite directions need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus that is stopped in the opposing roadway, or if the school bus is stopped in a loading zone that is a part of or adjacent to the highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

(2) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), any person violating the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon a first conviction thereof shall be fined not less than Three Hundred Fifty Dollars ($350.00) nor more than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), or imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, the offenses being committed within a period of five (5) years, the person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00) nor more than One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), or imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or both. In addition, the Commissioner of Public Safety or his duly authorized designee, after conviction for a second or subsequent offense and upon receipt of the court abstract, shall suspend the driver's license and driving privileges of the person for a period of ninety (90) days.

(b) A conviction under this section for a violation resulting in any injury to a child who is in the process of boarding or exiting a school bus shall be a violation of Section 97-3-7, and a violator shall be punished under subsection (2) of that section.

(3) This section shall be applicable only in the event the school bus shall bear upon the front and rear thereon a plainly visible sign containing the words "school bus" in letters not less than four (4) inches in height.

(4) If the driver of any vehicle is witnessed by a law enforcement officer or the driver of a school bus to have violated this section and the identity of the driver of the vehicle is not otherwise apparent, it shall be a rebuttable inference that the person in whose name the vehicle is registered committed the violation. If charges are filed against multiple owners of a motor vehicle, only one (1) of the owners may be convicted and court costs may be assessed against only one (1) of the owners. If the vehicle that is involved in the violation is registered in the name of a rental or leasing company and the vehicle is rented or leased to another person at the time of the violation, the rental or leasing company may rebut the inference of guilt by providing the law enforcement officer or prosecuting authority with a copy of the rental or lease agreement in effect at the time of the violation.

(5) A photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera authorized by Section 37-41-1(3) of this act:

(a) Is admissible as evidence in a criminal or civil proceeding to the extent permitted by the rules of evidence of this state; and

(b) Is not required for the prosecution of a violation of an offense under this section.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.