ENROLLED
2024 Legislature CS for CS for SB 994
2024994er
1
2 An act relating to student transportation safety;
3 amending s. 316.173, F.S.; providing construction;
4 revising requirements for signage posted on the rear
5 of a school bus indicating the use of a school bus
6 infraction detection system; requiring a law
7 enforcement agency to send a notice of violation to
8 the registered owner involved in a violation within a
9 specified timeframe after receiving certain
10 information; requiring a court having jurisdiction
11 over traffic violations to make a determination
12 regarding whether a violation has occurred; requiring
13 the court to uphold the violation if the court finds
14 that a violation has occurred; requiring the court, if
15 the violation is upheld, to require the petitioner to
16 pay certain penalties and costs; revising the required
17 uses for civil penalties assessed and collected for
18 certain violations; prohibiting the use of school bus
19 infraction detection systems for remote surveillance;
20 providing construction; revising purposes for which
21 video and images recorded as part of a school bus
22 infraction detection system may be used; conforming
23 provisions to changes made by the act; making
24 technical changes; amending s. 318.18, F.S.; requiring
25 that certain civil penalties be remitted to a
26 participating school district operating a school bus
27 with a school bus infraction detection system to be
28 used for certain purposes; providing an effective
29 date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), paragraph (a)
34 of subsection (2), subsections (5) and (7), paragraph (a) of
35 subsection (16), and paragraph (a) of subsection (17) of section
36 316.173, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
37 316.173 School bus infraction detection systems.—
38 (1)
39 (b) The school district may contract with a private vendor
40 or manufacturer to install a school bus infraction detection
41 system on any school bus within its fleet, whether owned,
42 contracted, or leased, and for services including, but not
43 limited to, the installation, operation, and maintenance of the
44 system. The school district’s decision to install school bus
45 infraction detection systems must be based solely on the need to
46 increase public safety. An individual may not receive a
47 commission from any revenue collected from violations detected
48 through the use of a school bus infraction detection system. A
49 private vendor or manufacturer may not receive a fee or
50 remuneration based upon the number of violations detected
51 through the use of a school bus infraction detection system.
52 This paragraph may not be construed to prohibit a private vendor
53 or manufacturer from receiving a fixed amount of collected
54 proceeds for service rendered in relation to the installation,
55 operation, or maintenance of school bus infraction detection
56 systems.
57 (2)(a) The school district must post high-visibility
58 reflective signage on the rear of each school bus in which a
59 school bus infraction detection system is installed and
60 operational which indicates the use of such system. The signage
61 must be in the form of one or more signs or stickers and must
62 contain the following elements in substantially the following
63 form:
64 1. The words “STOP WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH” or “DO NOT PASS
65 WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH.”
66 2. The words “CAMERA ENFORCED.”
67 3. A graphic depiction of a camera.
68 (5) Within 30 days after receiving the information required
69 in subsection (4), the law enforcement agency must, if it is
70 determined determines that the motor vehicle violated s.
71 316.172(1)(a) or (b), must send a notice of violation to the
72 registered owner of the motor vehicle involved in the violation
73 specifying the remedies available under s. 318.14 and that the
74 violator must pay the penalty under s. 318.18(5) or furnish an
75 affidavit in accordance with subsection (10) within 30 days
76 after the notice of violation is sent in order to avoid court
77 fees, costs, and the issuance of a uniform traffic citation. The
78 notice of violation must be sent by first-class mail and include
79 all of the following:
80 (a) A copy of one or more recorded images showing the motor
81 vehicle involved in the violation, including an image showing
82 the license plate of the motor vehicle.
83 (b) The date, time, and location of the violation.
84 (c) The amount of the civil penalty, the date by which the
85 civil penalty must be paid, and instructions on how to pay the
86 civil penalty.
87 (d) Instructions on how to request a hearing to contest
88 liability or the notice of violation.
89 (e) A notice that the owner has the right to review, in
90 person or remotely, the video and images recorded by the school
91 bus infraction detection system which constitute a rebuttable
92 presumption that the motor vehicle was used in violation of s.
93 316.172(1)(a) or (b).
94 (f) The time when, and the place or website at which, the
95 recorded video and images may be examined and observed.
96 (g) A warning that failure to pay the civil penalty or to
97 contest liability within 30 days after the notice is sent will
98 result in the issuance of a uniform traffic citation. A court
99 that has jurisdiction over traffic violations shall determine
100 whether a violation of this section has occurred. If a court
101 finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation
102 occurred, the court must uphold the violation. If the notice of
103 violation is upheld, the court must require the petitioner to
104 pay the penalty previously assessed under s. 318.18(5), and may
105 also require the petitioner to pay costs, not to exceed those
106 established in s. 316.0083(5)(e).
107 (7) The civil penalties assessed and collected for a
108 violation of s. 316.172(1)(a) or (b) enforced by a school bus
109 infraction detection system must be remitted to the school
110 district in which the violation occurred. Such civil penalties
111 must be used for the installation, operation, or maintenance of
112 school bus infraction detection systems on school buses,
113 including student transportation safety initiatives, driver
114 recruitment and retention stipends, or other student
115 transportation safety enhancements for any other technology that
116 increases the safety of the transportation of students, or for
117 the administration and costs associated with the enforcement of
118 violations as described in this section.
119 (16)(a)1. Notwithstanding any other law, equipment deployed
120 as part of A school bus infraction detection system as provided
121 under this section may not be used for capable of automated or
122 user-controlled remote surveillance. The collection of evidence
123 by a school bus infraction detection system to enforce
124 violations of s. 316.172 does not constitute remote
125 surveillance.
126 2. Video and images recorded as part of a the school bus
127 infraction detection system may only be used for traffic
128 enforcement and for purposes of determining criminal or civil
129 liability for incidents captured by the school bus infraction
130 detection system incidental to the permissible use of the school
131 bus infraction detection system to document violations of s.
132 316.172(1)(a) and (b) and may not be used for any other
133 surveillance purposes.
134 3. To the extent practicable, a school bus infraction
135 detection system must use necessary technology to ensure that
136 personal identifying information contained in the video or still
137 images recorded by the system which is not relevant to the
138 alleged violation, including, but not limited to, the identity
139 of the driver and any passenger of a motor vehicle, the interior
140 or contents of a motor vehicle, the identity of an uninvolved
141 person, a number identifying the address of a private residence,
142 and the contents or interior of a private residence, is
143 sufficiently obscured so as not to reveal such personal
144 identifying information.
145 4. A notice of a violation or uniform traffic citation
146 issued under this section may not be dismissed solely because a
147 recorded video or still images reveal personal identifying
148 information as provided in subparagraph 3. as long as a
149 reasonable effort has been made to comply with this subsection.
150 (17)(a) By October 1, 2023, and quarterly thereafter, each
151 school district, in consultation with the law enforcement
152 agencies with which it has interlocal agreements pursuant to
153 this section, operating a school bus infraction detection system
154 must submit, in consultation with the law enforcement agencies
155 with which it has interlocal agreements pursuant to this
156 section, a report to the department which details the results of
157 the school bus infraction detection systems in the school
158 district in the preceding quarter. The information from the
159 school districts must be submitted in a form and manner
160 determined by the department, which the department must make
161 available to the school districts by August 1, 2023, and must
162 include at least the following:
163 1. The number of school buses that have a school bus
164 infraction detection system installed, including the date of
165 installation and, if applicable, the date the systems were
166 removed.
167 2. The number of notices of violations issued, the number
168 that were contested, the number that were upheld, the number
169 that were dismissed, the number that were issued as uniform
170 traffic citations, and the number that were paid.
171 3. Data for each infraction to determine locations in need
172 of safety improvements. Such data may must include, but is not
173 limited to, global positioning system coordinates of the
174 infraction, the date and time of the infraction, and the name of
175 the school that the school bus was transporting students to or
176 from.
177 4. Any other statistical data and information required by
178 the department to complete the report required by paragraph (c).
179 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
180 318.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
181 318.18 Amount of penalties.—The penalties required for a
182 noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal
183 offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows:
184 (5)
185 (c) In addition to the penalty under paragraph (a) or
186 paragraph (b), $65 for a violation of s. 316.172(1)(a) or (b).
187 If the alleged offender is found to have committed the offense,
188 the court shall impose the civil penalty under paragraph (a) or
189 paragraph (b) plus an additional $65. The additional $65
190 collected under this paragraph shall be remitted to the
191 Department of Revenue for deposit into the Emergency Medical
192 Services Trust Fund of the Department of Health to be used as
193 provided in s. 395.4036. If a violation of s. 316.172(1)(a) or
194 (b) is enforced by a school bus infraction detection system
195 pursuant to s. 316.173, the additional amount imposed on a
196 notice of violation, on a the uniform traffic citation, or by
197 the court under this paragraph must be $25, in lieu of the
198 additional $65, and must be remitted to the participating school
199 district and used pursuant to s. 316.173(7).
200 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.