Florida Senate - 2022 SB 702
By Senator Burgess
20-00718-22 2022702__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to photographic enforcement of school
3 bus safety; creating s. 316.616, F.S.; defining the
4 terms “school bus” and “side stop signal arm
5 enforcement system”; authorizing school districts to
6 install and operate side stop signal arm enforcement
7 systems on school buses; requiring school districts to
8 post certain warning signs or stickers on such buses;
9 authorizing school districts to contract with a
10 private vendor or manufacturer to provide side stop
11 signal arm enforcement systems and certain services;
12 requiring manufacturers and vendors to submit
13 specified information to law enforcement agencies
14 within a specified timeframe; requiring law
15 enforcement agencies to review such information to
16 determine whether a violation occurred and
17 electronically certify the notice of violation under
18 certain circumstances; providing that certain
19 certificates sworn to or affirmed by a law enforcement
20 officer are prima facie evidence; providing that
21 recorded images evidencing a violation of this act are
22 admissible in any judicial or administrative
23 proceeding for a certain purpose; providing a
24 rebuttable presumption; providing notice requirements
25 and procedures; authorizing motor vehicle owners
26 served a notice of violation to take certain actions
27 as a final disposition of such notice; providing that
28 payment of the fine operates as a final disposition of
29 the civil penalty; providing notice requirements and
30 procedures for unpaid civil penalties; requiring the
31 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
32 refuse to renew the registration of motor vehicles and
33 prohibit the transfer of title under specified
34 circumstances; requiring the department to remove
35 penalties imposed on a motor vehicle owner upon
36 presentation of adequate proof; requiring that side
37 stop signal arm enforcement system equipment be
38 incapable of automated or user-controlled remote
39 surveillance; specifying requirements of and
40 prohibitions on the use of recorded video and still
41 images captured by the side stop signal arm
42 enforcement system; providing that a motor vehicle
43 owner is not responsible for a violation of this act
44 if the vehicle was reported stolen at the time the
45 violation occurred; providing civil penalties;
46 providing for distribution of such penalties;
47 providing construction; requiring school districts
48 operating a side stop signal arm enforcement system to
49 provide a summary report to the Governor, the
50 Legislature, and the department annually by a
51 specified date; requiring the State Board of Education
52 to adopt rules for a specified purpose and authorizing
53 it to adopt other rules; amending s. 1006.21, F.S.;
54 conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
55 providing an effective date.
56
57 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
58
59 Section 1. Section 316.616, Florida Statutes, is created to
60 read:
61 316.616 School buses; side stop signal arm enforcement
62 system.—
63 (1) As used in this section, the term:
64 (a) “School bus” has the same meaning as provided in s.
65 316.6145.
66 (b) “Side stop signal arm enforcement system” means a
67 camera system affixed to a school bus with two or more camera
68 sensors or computers that produce recorded video and two or more
69 film or digital photographic still images for the purpose of
70 documenting a motor vehicle being used or operated in a manner
71 that allegedly violates s. 316.172.
72 (2)(a) A school district may install and operate a side
73 stop signal arm enforcement system on a school bus for the
74 purpose of enforcing s. 316.172. The school district shall post
75 a warning sign or sticker on all school buses in which a system
76 is installed and operational indicating the use of such system.
77 (b) The school district may contract with a private vendor
78 or manufacturer to provide a side stop signal arm enforcement
79 system on each bus within its fleet, whether owned, contracted,
80 or leased, and for services including, but not limited to, the
81 installation, operation, and maintenance of the system. The
82 school district’s decision to establish a side stop signal arm
83 enforcement system must be based solely on the need to increase
84 public safety.
85 (c) A school district shall ensure that the side stop
86 signal arm enforcement system meets the requirements of
87 subsection (12).
88 (3) Each private manufacturer or vendor shall, within 30
89 days after an alleged violation is captured, submit the
90 following information to a law enforcement agency authorized to
91 enforce violations of s. 316.172:
92 (a) A copy of the recorded image showing the motor vehicle.
93 (b) The license plate number and state of issuance of the
94 motor vehicle.
95 (c) The date, time, and place of the alleged violation.
96 (4)(a) Each law enforcement agency authorized to enforce
97 violations of s. 316.172 shall review the information submitted
98 by the private manufacturer or vendor as provided under
99 subsection (3) to determine whether there is sufficient evidence
100 that a violation of s. 316.172 occurred and, if the evidence
101 shows a violation occurred, shall electronically certify a
102 notice of violation.
103 (b) A certificate or a facsimile of a certificate based on
104 inspection of recorded images produced by a side stop signal arm
105 enforcement system and sworn to or affirmed by a law enforcement
106 officer authorized to enforce violations of s. 316.172 shall be
107 prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it. Upon request
108 by the law enforcement agency, the school district shall provide
109 written documentation that the side stop signal arm enforcement
110 system was operating correctly at the time of the alleged
111 violation.
112 (c) A recorded image evidencing a violation of s. 316.172
113 shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding
114 to adjudicate the liability for the violation.
115 (d) A rebuttable presumption shall exist that the
116 registered owner of the motor vehicle was the driver at the time
117 of the alleged violation.
118 (5)(a) Within 30 days after receiving the information
119 provided under subsection (3), a law enforcement agency
120 authorized to enforce violations of s. 316.172 or an agent
121 authorized by such law enforcement agency shall send by first
122 class mail a notice of violation to the registered owner of the
123 motor vehicle involved in the violation. Mailing the notice of
124 violation constitutes notification.
125 (b) In the case of joint ownership of a motor vehicle, the
126 notice of violation shall be mailed to the first name appearing
127 on the registration. However, if the first name appearing on the
128 registration is a business entity, the second name appearing on
129 the registration may be used.
130 (c) The notice of violation must include all of the
131 following:
132 1. A copy of the recorded image showing the motor vehicle
133 involved in the violation.
134 2. A citation for the violation indicating the date, time,
135 and location of the alleged violation.
136 3. The amount of the civil penalty and the date by which
137 such penalty must be paid.
138 4. A copy of the certificate described in subsection (4)
139 and a statement of the inference therein.
140 5. Instructions on how to request a hearing to contest
141 liability or notice.
142 6. A warning that failure to pay the civil penalty or to
143 contest liability within 30 days after the notice is mailed
144 shall waive the right to contest liability.
145 (d) The owner of the motor vehicle involved in a violation
146 may admit responsibility for the violation and pay the fine as
147 indicated on the notice of violation. Payment of the fine
148 operates as a final disposition of the civil penalty.
149 (6)(a) If a violation has not been contested and the civil
150 penalty has not been paid within 30 days after a notice required
151 under subsection (5) is mailed, the law enforcement agency or an
152 agent authorized by the law enforcement agency shall send by
153 first-class mail a final notice of the unpaid civil penalty. The
154 final notice must inform the owner that the law enforcement
155 agency or the agent authorized by the law enforcement agency
156 shall send a referral to the department if the civil penalty is
157 not paid within 30 days after the final notice was mailed and
158 that such referral shall result in the nonrenewal of the
159 registration of such motor vehicle and prohibit the title
160 transfer of such motor vehicle within this state.
161 (b) A referral sent to the department under paragraph (a)
162 must include all of the following:
163 1. Any information known or available to the law
164 enforcement agency or an authorized agent concerning the motor
165 vehicle’s license plate number and year of registration and the
166 name of the registered owner of the motor vehicle.
167 2. The date on which the violation occurred.
168 3. The dates on which the required notice and final notice
169 were mailed.
170 4. The seal, logo, emblem, or electronic seal of the law
171 enforcement agency.
172 (c) Within 5 days after receipt of a referral under
173 paragraph (a), the department shall enter the referral into the
174 department’s motor vehicle database and shall refuse to renew
175 the registration of the motor vehicle and prohibit the title
176 transfer of the motor vehicle within this state until the civil
177 penalty is paid. The department shall send the registered owner
178 of the motor vehicle by first-class mail a notice stating:
179 1. That the registration of the motor vehicle involved in
180 the violation cannot be renewed within this state.
181 2. That the title of the motor vehicle involved in the
182 violation cannot be transferred within this state.
183 3. That the penalties provided in this paragraph are being
184 imposed due to failure to pay the civil penalty for a violation
185 of s. 316.172 as provided in this section.
186 4. The procedure provided in paragraph (d) for removing the
187 penalties provided in this paragraph.
188 (d) The department shall remove the penalties imposed under
189 paragraph (c) when the registered owner of the motor vehicle or
190 any other person presents the department with adequate proof
191 that the civil penalty has been paid.
192 (7)(a)1. Notwithstanding any other law, equipment deployed
193 as part of a side stop signal arm enforcement system as provided
194 under this section must be incapable of automated or user
195 controlled remote surveillance by means of recorded video or
196 still images.
197 2. Recorded images collected as part of the side stop
198 signal arm enforcement system may only be used to document
199 violations of s. 316.172 and may not be used for any other
200 surveillance purposes.
201 3. To the extent practicable, a side stop signal arm
202 enforcement system must use necessary technology to ensure that
203 recorded video or still images produced by the system do not
204 identify the driver, any passenger, or the contents of a motor
205 vehicle.
206 4. A notice of a violation issued under this section may
207 not be dismissed solely because a recorded video or still images
208 allow for the identification of the driver, any passenger, or
209 the contents of a motor vehicle as long as a reasonable effort
210 has been made to comply with this subsection.
211 (b) Any recorded video or still image obtained through the
212 use of a side stop signal arm enforcement system must be
213 destroyed within 90 days after the final disposition of the
214 recorded event. The vendor of a side stop signal arm enforcement
215 system shall provide the school district with written notice by
216 December 31 of each year that such records have been destroyed
217 in accordance with this section.
218 (c) Notwithstanding any other law, registered motor vehicle
219 owner information obtained as a result of the operation of a
220 side stop signal arm enforcement system is not the property of
221 the manufacturer or vendor of the system and may be used only
222 for the purposes of this section.
223 (8) The owner of a motor vehicle is not responsible for a
224 violation of this section if the vehicle involved was reported
225 to a state or local law enforcement agency as stolen at the time
226 the violation occurred.
227 (9) This section supplements the enforcement of s. 316.172
228 by law enforcement officers when a driver fails to stop while a
229 school bus is stopped and does not prohibit a law enforcement
230 officer from issuing a traffic citation for a violation of s.
231 316.172.
232 (10)(a) The registered owner of a motor vehicle who is
233 found in violation of s. 316.172 by a side stop signal arm
234 enforcement system is subject to a civil penalty of $200 for a
235 violation of s. 316.172(1)(a) and $400 for a violation of s.
236 316.172(1)(b). Notwithstanding s. 318.18(5), the fine shall be
237 paid to the school district in which the violation occurred and
238 must be used for the installation or maintenance of side stop
239 signal arm enforcement systems on school buses or for any other
240 technology that increases the safety of the transportation of
241 students.
242 (b) For each violation under this section, the registered
243 owner of the motor vehicle shall be liable for the imposed
244 penalty unless the owner is convicted of the same violation
245 under s. 316.172 or unless the motor vehicle was stolen at the
246 time of the violation as provided under subsection (8).
247 (c) A violation for which a civil penalty is imposed
248 pursuant to this section is not considered a moving violation
249 for the purpose of assessing points under s. 322.27(3). Such
250 violation is noncriminal, and imposition of a civil penalty
251 pursuant to this section does not constitute a conviction, may
252 not be made a part of the driving record of the person upon whom
253 such liability is imposed, and may not be used for any purposes
254 in the provision of motor vehicle insurance.
255 (11) By December 31, 2022, and annually thereafter, a
256 school district operating a side stop signal arm enforcement
257 system shall provide a summary report to the Governor, the
258 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
259 Representatives, and the department regarding the use and
260 operation of the system under this section, including the number
261 of citations issued and the amount of funds collected for the
262 preceding state fiscal year.
263 (12) A side stop signal arm enforcement system must meet
264 specifications established by the State Board of Education and
265 must be tested at regular intervals according to specifications
266 prescribed by state board rule. The state board must establish
267 such specifications by rule on or before December 31, 2022.
268 However, any such equipment acquired by purchase, lease, or
269 other arrangement under an agreement entered into by a school
270 district on or before July 1, 2023, or equipment used to enforce
271 violations of s. 316.172 on or before July 1, 2023, is not
272 required to meet the specifications established by the state
273 board until July 1, 2023.
274 (13) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
275 address student privacy concerns that may arise from the use of
276 a side stop signal arm enforcement system.
277 Section 2. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (3) of
278 section 1006.21, Florida Statutes, to read:
279 1006.21 Duties of district school superintendent and
280 district school board regarding transportation.—
281 (3) District school boards, after considering
282 recommendations of the district school superintendent:
283 (h) May install and operate, or enter into an agreement
284 with a private vendor or manufacturer to provide, a side stop
285 signal arm enforcement system for each school bus pursuant to s.
286 316.616.
287 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.