Schoolbuses: stop signal arm enforcement system.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how many school districts will participate in this program or the costs involved, leaving these points uncertain.

Schoolbus Stop Signal Arm Enforcement System

AB-2449 allows school districts to establish a pilot program using cameras on schoolbuses to enforce rules about stopping for stopped schoolbuses, and changes fines from criminal penalties to civil ones.

What This Bill Does

• Allows school districts to start a pilot program with cameras on schoolbuses to enforce rules about stopping for schoolbuses.
• Requires school districts to share information about the system's operation and camera locations online before it starts.
• Lets school districts hire private companies to install these systems on their buses.
• Sets up a process where law enforcement can review violations caught by cameras, and people who are accused of violating rules can challenge them.
• Makes sure that any photos or records from the system stay confidential except for use by public agencies.

Who It Names or Affects

• School districts
• Drivers who pass stopped schoolbuses
• Law enforcement agencies

Terms To Know

Pilot program

A small-scale test of a new system or idea before it is fully implemented.

Civil penalty

A fine for breaking rules that is treated as a legal issue, not a criminal one.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill only allows the pilot program until January 1, 2032.
• It does not specify how many school districts will participate in this program.
• Details about how much it costs to set up and run these systems are not provided.

Official Summary Text

AB 2449, as introduced, Michelle Rodriguez.
Schoolbuses: stop signal arm enforcement system.
Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle, upon meeting or overtaking a schoolbus equipped with required signs that is stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading schoolchildren and displaying a flashing red light signal and stop signal arm, if equipped with a stop signal arm, to bring the vehicle to a stop immediately before passing the schoolbus and to not proceed past the schoolbus until the flashing red light signal and stop signal arm cease operation. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law imposes escalating fines for violations of these provisions, including a fine of not less than $150, but not more than $250, for a first violation.
This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2032, school districts to establish a stop signal arm enforcement system pilot program if the system meets specified requirements, in order
to enforce the provisions above. The bill would require the school district to publish certain data regarding the system, and post routes or operational hours and camera locations on their internet website before deployment of the system. The bill would authorize the school district to contract with a private vendor or manufacturer to install a stop signal arm enforcement system on each schoolbus in its fleet. The bill would require a school district, vendor, or manufacturer to submit specified information regarding an alleged violation to a law enforcement agency authorized to enforce those violations within 30 days of the alleged violation. The bill would create a process for law enforcement to determine whether the person committed certain violations as well as a process for the alleged offender to challenge the violation. The bill would designate all photographic or administrative records, made by a system as confidential, and would only authorize public agencies to use and allow access to these records
for specified purposes. The bill would require a school district operating a stop signal arm enforcement system, by July 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, to provide a summary report to the Governor, Legislature, and Department of Motor Vehicles that describes the use and operation of the system, as specified.
This bill would, until January 1, 2032, repeal the authority to impose criminal fines for a violation of the schoolbus provisions and would instead recast the fines as a civil penalty schedule if a person violates those provisions.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative
findings to that effect.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF