L.C. 6.2: School Bus and School Vehicle Student Safety Act (Statute)

[S019]

School Bus and School Vehicle Student Safety Act

To require all school buses to have surveillance cameras and seat belts; requiring school bus and school vehicle drivers to be distraction-free.

Section 1. Short title

This Act shall be cited as the “School Bus and School Vehicle Student Safety Act".

Section 2. Requirements

(a) Surveillance. -

Every school bus registered in the region of Lincoln shall be required to have a video monitoring system that, at a minimum, includes an internal camera positioned so that every seat is within the camera's field of vision and one of the following:

(i) an internal camera positioned outward so that the road ahead is within the camera's field of vision; or (ii) an external camera.

(b) Seat Belts. -

Every school bus registered in the region of Lincoln shall be equipped with or be fitted with retractable seat belts. No passenger may be carried for whom a seat belt is not available. Each passenger shall use a seat belt when the bus is in motion.

Section 3. Distracted Drivers

(a) In general. -

While operating a school bus or a school vehicle registered in the region of Lincoln on any road when the school bus or school vehicle is in motion and is transporting one or more passengers, no individual may:

(i) consume food or beverages; or (ii) operate a cellphone.

(b) Exception. -

The prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply when the school bus or school vehicle is:

(i) parked in a safe area off of a road; (ii) the consumption of food or beverages is necessary for a medical condition; or (ii) the operation of the cellular telephone occurs during an emergency situation.

(c) Fines. -

A person who violates this section commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars. The fine shall be five hundred dollars if the violation causes a vehicular accident.

(d) Definitions. -

As used in Section, unless otherwise provided or indicated by the context, the term "emergency situation" shall mean a call made to:

(i) an emergency system response operator or 911 public safety communications dispatcher; (ii) a hospital or emergency room; (iii) a physician's office or health clinic; (iv) an ambulance or fire department rescue service; (v) a fire department or volunteer fire department; (vi) a police department; (vii) a school district building or central dispatch; or (viii) an emergency roadside assistance agency or towing or repair businesses.

Section 4. Implementation

Section 2(a) of this Act shall take effect 90 days after passage; Section 2(b) of this Act shall take effect 180 days after passage; Section 3 of this Act shall take effect immediately after passage.

Sponsor: Jimmy7812

Debate on this bill has begun and shall last for no less than 72 hours

[Dr. MB]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Since this bill was already debated and voted in, I motion that the Council rules be suspended and a final vote begin immediately.

[Dr. MB]

Since this bill was already debated and voted in, I motion that the Council rules be suspended and a final vote begin immediately.

That was last council. 4/5 of the members now didn't vote or debate.

[S019]

Councilors have 24 hours to object to the Chancellor's motion

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

[Dr. MB]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

Surely the driver can just constantly look behind themselves while driving instead of watching the road.

[Dr. MB]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

Surely the driver can just constantly look behind themselves while driving instead of watching the road.

If there's an incident so severe that security camera footage is needed to figure out who did it then the driver can easily glance back at the mirror or pull the bus to the side of the road. It's not like someone sits in a room and glances over every minute of footage.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

Surely the driver can just constantly look behind themselves while driving instead of watching the road.

If there's an incident so severe that security camera footage is needed to figure out who did it then the driver can easily glance back at the mirror or pull the bus to the side of the road. It's not like someone sits in a room and glances over every minute of footage.

Nothing is better than recorded evidence. With that, this bill also requires a second camera to face towards the road ahead or one outside outside. This keeps everyone safe and the only students that won’t like this being done are those who are caught and get in trouble from this evidence.

[Dr. MB]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

Surely the driver can just constantly look behind themselves while driving instead of watching the road.

If there's an incident so severe that security camera footage is needed to figure out who did it then the driver can easily glance back at the mirror or pull the bus to the side of the road. It's not like someone sits in a room and glances over every minute of footage.

Nothing is better than recorded evidence. With that, this bill also requires a second camera to face towards the road ahead or one outside outside. This keeps everyone safe and the only students that won’t like this being done are those who are caught and get in trouble from this evidence.

I remember in middle school one time we had a substitute bus driver. And of course some people got off at the wrong stop because our bus driver was really strict about that, or crossed behind the bus or something. Point being it was a pretty low level offense. Anyway the sub noticed and told the bus driver who then dealt a really out of proportion punishment to the people who did it after looking at the camera footage. I don't really get why this should be the case.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I'd strongly urge the council to strike section 2a. Surveillance cameras should be up to the district on whether to install them or not and requiring them is a huge violation of trust and privacy.

Not sure what expectation of privacy there would be on a bus where the driver can already see everyone.

If the driver can see everyone, why do they need cameras?

Surely the driver can just constantly look behind themselves while driving instead of watching the road.

If there's an incident so severe that security camera footage is needed to figure out who did it then the driver can easily glance back at the mirror or pull the bus to the side of the road. It's not like someone sits in a room and glances over every minute of footage.

Nothing is better than recorded evidence. With that, this bill also requires a second camera to face towards the road ahead or one outside outside. This keeps everyone safe and the only students that won’t like this being done are those who are caught and get in trouble from this evidence.

I remember in middle school one time we had a substitute bus driver. And of course some people got off at the wrong stop because our bus driver was really strict about that, or crossed behind the bus or something. Point being it was a pretty low level offense. Anyway the sub noticed and told the bus driver who then dealt a really out of proportion punishment to the people who did it after looking at the camera footage. I don't really get why this should be the case.

That shouldn’t have been the case in that situation and there are a lot of reforms that need to be made to school punishment in general, but the idea that there should not be cameras in/on school buses because students will get caught doing things is a weak argument.

[S019]

As 24 hours have elapsed, a vote is now open and shall remain open for 48 hours or until all Councilors have voted


Please vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN


AYE

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Aye

[Gracile]

Nay

[Zinneke]

Aye

[S019]

Vote is closed

This legislation has passed


AYE: S019, Jimmy7812, Zinneke
NAY: Gracile
NOT VOTING: lwp2004

[Esteemed Jimmy]

School Bus and School Vehicle Student Safety Act

To require all school buses to have surveillance cameras and seat belts; requiring school bus and school vehicle drivers to be distraction-free.

Section 1. Short title

This Act shall be cited as the “School Bus and School Vehicle Student Safety Act".

Section 2. Requirements

(a) Surveillance. -

Every school bus registered in the region of Lincoln shall be required to have a video monitoring system that, at a minimum, includes an internal camera positioned so that every seat is within the camera's field of vision and one of the following:

(i) an internal camera positioned outward so that the road ahead is within the camera's field of vision; or (ii) an external camera.

(b) Seat Belts. -

Every school bus registered in the region of Lincoln shall be equipped with or be fitted with retractable seat belts. No passenger may be carried for whom a seat belt is not available. Each passenger shall use a seat belt when the bus is in motion.

Section 3. Distracted Drivers

(a) In general. -

While operating a school bus or a school vehicle registered in the region of Lincoln on any road when the school bus or school vehicle is in motion and is transporting one or more passengers, no individual may:

(i) consume food or beverages; or (ii) operate a cellphone.

(b) Exception. -

The prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply when the school bus or school vehicle is:

(i) parked in a safe area off of a road; (ii) the consumption of food or beverages is necessary for a medical condition; or (ii) the operation of the cellular telephone occurs during an emergency situation.

(c) Fines. -

A person who violates this section commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars. The fine shall be five hundred dollars if the violation causes a vehicular accident.

(d) Definitions. -

As used in Section, unless otherwise provided or indicated by the context, the term "emergency situation" shall mean a call made to:

(i) an emergency system response operator or 911 public safety communications dispatcher; (ii) a hospital or emergency room; (iii) a physician's office or health clinic; (iv) an ambulance or fire department rescue service; (v) a fire department or volunteer fire department; (vi) a police department; (vii) a school district building or central dispatch; or (viii) an emergency roadside assistance agency or towing or repair businesses.

Section 4. Implementation

Section 2(a) of this Act shall take effect 90 days after passage; Section 2(b) of this Act shall take effect 180 days after passage; Section 3 of this Act shall take effect immediately after passage.

x. Governor Jimmy7812