Traffic Safety Near Schools

Plain English: This amendment changes how school zones are defined by excluding state highways unless approved, allows local governments to shrink zone sizes with public hearings, and creates a new 'school street' rule with a strict 10 mph speed limit.

• State highways will not be part of a school zone unless the Colorado Department of Transportation or a local government approves it in writing.
• Local governments can reduce the size of a school zone to between 200 and 1,000 feet from a school boundary if they hold a public hearing first.
• The amendment creates a new 'school street' designation for roads right next to schools where vehicles must yield to pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility users.
• On designated school streets, the maximum speed limit is set at 10 miles per hour.

• The text does not explain what specific traffic rules are suspended under Section 42-4-119(9) other than those that endanger pedestrians or frustrate movement.
• The amendment mentions raising revenue through bonding for signage but does not detail how the funding process works.

Plain English: This amendment changes the rules for school zones to ensure they are at least 200 feet wide and gives local governments control over which schools get these new zone boundaries.

• School zones must be increased to a minimum of 200 feet if they currently start less than that distance from a school property line.
• Local cities or counties can choose which specific schools are included on the list for creating these new school zones.
• Existing signs at current school zones will still count as valid even after this law takes effect.

• The amendment text does not explain exactly how local governments must create or publish their lists of schools.
• It is unclear if there are any time limits for when cities and counties must finish increasing the school zone sizes to meet the new minimum.

Plain English: This amendment would remove the specific rules in the bill that define what areas count as school zones.

• It deletes lines on page 2 and all of page 3 where the definition of a school zone is written.

• The amendment text only shows which parts are deleted but does not provide any new rules to replace them.
• Because the original bill's full text was not provided, it is unclear exactly what specific distance or road types were being removed from the definition.

Plain English: This amendment changes how school zones are defined by removing a fixed distance rule and instead requiring local officials to specifically mark the areas near schools.

• Removes the definition that includes all roadways within at least 1,000 feet of a school property boundary.
• Redefines school zones as only the area immediately next to school grounds or marked crossings.
• Requires local governments or the Department of Transportation to specifically designate these areas.

• The amendment text does not explain exactly how far 'immediately adjacent' extends without a specific designation.
• This amendment was lost and did not become part of the final bill.

Plain English: This amendment adds a rule that data collected from automated vehicle identification systems cannot be sold or used for anything other than traffic enforcement.

• Data gathered by automated vehicle ID cameras must only be used to enforce traffic laws.
• Government agencies are not allowed to sell the information collected from these systems.
• The data must be stored and handled following specific law enforcement safety standards.

• This amendment was voted down (lost) during its second reading, so it did not become part of the final bill.
• The text does not explain what happens if someone breaks these new data rules or who specifically is in charge of enforcing them.

Plain English: This amendment would stop local governments from sending traffic tickets based on automated cameras in school zones unless a police officer first reviews the evidence.

• Local governments cannot issue speeding or other violation notices detected by automatic systems near schools without human review.
• A sworn peace officer must check each alleged violation before any ticket is sent to the driver.

• This amendment was voted down and did not become part of the final bill, so these rules were never added.
• The text does not explain what happens if an officer reviews a case but decides no violation occurred.

Plain English: This amendment gives the bill a new official name called the 'Liam Stewart School Zone Act'.

• Adds a short title section to officially call this law the 'Liam Stewart School Zone Act'.