An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1967 By: Nollan of the House
and
Pemberton of the Senate
An Act relating to public safety; amending 47 O.S.
2011, Section 11-705, as amended by Section 1,
Chapter 145, O.S.L. 2019 (47 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
11-705), which relates to meeting or overtaking a
school bus; modifying time frame for reporting
certain violation; and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Public safety
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2011, Section 11 -705, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 145, O.S.L. 2019 (47 O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 11-705), is amended to read as follows:
Section 11-705. A. The driver of a vehicle meeting or
overtaking a school bus that is st opped to take on or discharge
school children, and on which the red loading signals are in
operation, is to stop the vehicle before it reaches the school bus
and not proceed until the loading signals are deactivated and then
proceed past such school bus at a speed which is reasonable and with
due caution for the safety of such school children and other
occupants. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this
subsection shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred
Dollars ($100.00). In addition to the fine, a special assessment of
One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) shall be assessed, of which seventy -
five percent (75%) shall be deposited to the credit of the Cameras
for School Bus Stops Revolving Fund established in Section 2 9-119
of this act Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes . The remaining
twenty-five percent (25%) of the special assessment shall be ENR. H. B. NO. 1967 Page 2
deposited to the credit of the reviewing law enforcement agency
referred to in subsection E of this section.
B. Visual signals, meeting th e requirements of Section 12 -228
of this title, shall be actuated by the driver of said school bus
whenever, but only whenever, such vehicle is stopped on the highway
for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children.
C. The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate
roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus which is
on a different roadway or when upon a controlled -access highway and
the school bus is stopped in a loading zone which is a part of or
adjacent to such highwa y and where pedestrians are not permitted to
cross the roadway.
D. If the driver of a school bus witnesses a violation of the
provisions of subsection A of this section, within twenty-four (24)
hours of the alleged offense on or before the end of the nex t
business day following the alleged offense , the driver shall report
the violation, the vehicle color, license tag number, and the time
and place such violation occurred to the law enforcement authority
of the municipality where the violation occurred. T he law
enforcement authority of a municipality shall issue a letter of
warning on the alleged violation to the person in whose name the
vehicle is registered. The Office of the Attorney General shall
provide a form letter to each municipal law enforcement agency in
this state for the issuance of the warning provided for in this
subsection. Such form letter shall be used by each such law
enforcement agency in the exact form provided for by the Office of
the Attorney General. A warning letter issued pursua nt to this
subsection shall not be recorded on the driving record of the person
to whom such letter was issued. Issuance of a warning letter
pursuant to this section shall not preclude the imposition of other
penalties as provided by law.
E. 1. A school district may install and operate a video -
monitoring system in or on the school buses or the bus stop -arms
operated by the district or contract with a private vendor to do so
on behalf of the school district for the purpose of recording
violations of subsection A of this section. In the event the video -
monitoring system captures a recording of a violation of subsection
A of this section, appropriate personnel at the school district
shall extract data related to the violation from the recording. The
extracted data shall include a recorded image or video containing
the requirements listed in paragraph 2 of this subsection. The ENR. H. B. NO. 1967 Page 3
school district shall submit the extracted data for review to the
law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in which the violation
occurred. If the reviewing law enforcement agency determines there
is sufficient evidence to identify the vehicle and the driver, such
evidence shall be submitted to the district attorney's office for
prosecution.
2. For the purposes of this subsection, "video-monitoring
system" means a system with one or more camera sensors and computers
installed and operated on a school bus that produces live digital
and recorded video of motor vehicles being operated in violation of
subsection A of this section. The system shall, at a minimum,
produce a recorded image of the license plate of the vehicle, an
identifiable picture of the driver's face, the activation status of
at least one warning device as prescribed in Section 12 -228 of this
title and the time, date an d location of the vehicle when the image
was recorded.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
ENR. H. B. NO. 1967 Page 4
Passed the House of Representatives the 28th day of April, 2021.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 15th day of April, 2021.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________