By: West S.B. No. 1485
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
Security; May 9, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 2, 1
present not voting; May 9, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1485 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a school district to implement a school
bus monitoring system that records images, including images of
vehicles that pass a stopped school bus; providing for the
imposition of penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 545.066, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) An image recorded by a monitoring system authorized by
Section 547.701(b)(3) may be used in the prosecution of an offense
under this section if the image:
(1) is otherwise admissible;
(2) clearly shows the vehicle, including the license
plate attached to the vehicle, at the time the offense was alleged
to have occurred; and
(3) is accompanied by an affidavit executed by a peace
officer stating that the image is authentic and establishes
probable cause that a violation occurred.
SECTION 2. Chapter 545, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. SCHOOL BUS MONITORING SYSTEM
Sec. 545.451. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This
subchapter:
(1) applies only to a school district that uses school
bus monitoring systems installed on or before September 1, 2011;
and
(2) does not prohibit a school district that uses
school bus monitoring systems installed on or before September 1,
2011, from installing additional school bus monitoring systems
after that date.
(b) This section expires September 1, 2015.
Sec. 545.452. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Owner of a motor vehicle" means the owner of a
motor vehicle as shown on the motor vehicle registration records of
the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles or the analogous department
or agency of another state or country.
(2) "Recorded image" means a live or recorded
photographic, video, or digital image.
(3) "School bus monitoring system" means a system
authorized by Section 547.701(b)(3).
Sec. 545.453. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTY. (a) The
board of trustees of a school district by resolution may impose a
financial penalty on the registered owner of a vehicle that is
operated in a manner that violates Section 545.066 in the
boundaries of the school district.
(b) The resolution adopted under this section must:
(1) provide for a:
(A) penalty of not less than $75 or more than
$200; and
(B) late payment penalty not to exceed $25;
(2) authorize an attorney employed by the school
district or an attorney with whom the school district contracts to
bring suit to collect the penalty;
(3) provide for notice of the violation to the
registered owner of the motor vehicle that committed the violation;
(4) provide that a person against whom the school
district seeks to impose a penalty is entitled to an administrative
adjudication hearing;
(5) designate the department, agency, or office of the
school district responsible for the enforcement and administration
of the resolution or provide that the entity with which the school
district contracts under Section 545.454 is responsible for the
enforcement and administration of the resolution;
(6) provide regulations for the use of live or
recorded images by the school bus monitoring system; and
(7) provide for other procedures the board determines
are necessary for the imposition and collection of a penalty
authorized by this section.
(c) Except as provided by this subchapter, an image recorded
by the school bus monitoring system that is not used in the
prosecution of an offense under Section 545.066 or in an
administrative adjudication of a violation under this subchapter
must be destroyed by the owner of the school bus in accordance with
applicable record retention laws.
(d) Except as provided by Section 545.066(g), an image
recorded by a school bus monitoring system may not be sold or
distributed to another person.
(e) Penalties collected under this section may be used by a
school district only to pay for:
(1) installing, operating, and maintaining school bus
monitoring systems;
(2) collecting a penalty imposed under this section;
or
(3) developing and implementing measures designed to
improve student safety, including the purchase of new school buses
and seat belts for school buses, student safety training, and
school bus driver training.
Sec. 545.454. ADMINISTRATION, ENFORCEMENT, INSTALLATION,
AND OPERATION OF SCHOOL BUS MONITORING SYSTEM. A school district
that implements a school bus monitoring system and adopts a
resolution imposing a penalty under this subchapter may:
(1) contract with a company located in Texas for the
administration and enforcement of the system;
(2) install and operate the system or contract with a
company located in Texas for the installation or operation of the
system;
(3) enter into an interlocal agreement with a
municipality or county in which the school district is located
regarding administrative adjudication hearings required by a
resolution adopted under this subchapter; or
(4) enter into an interlocal agreement with another
school district regarding the administration, enforcement,
installation, or operation of the system.
Sec. 545.455. GENERAL SURVEILLANCE PROHIBITED; OFFENSE.
(a) A school district may use a school bus monitoring system only
to:
(1) monitor safety issues inside or outside the school
bus; or
(2) detect a violation or suspected violation of
Section 545.066 in the boundaries of the school district.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person uses a school
bus monitoring system to produce a recorded image other than in the
manner and for the purpose specified by a resolution adopted under
Section 545.453.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sec. 545.456. EFFECT ON OTHER ENFORCEMENT. (a) The
implementation of a school bus monitoring system by a school
district under this subchapter does not preclude the application or
enforcement in the boundaries of the school district of Section
545.066 in the manner prescribed by Chapter 543.
(b) A school district may not impose a penalty under this
subchapter on the owner of a motor vehicle if the operator of the
vehicle was arrested or issued a citation and notice to appear by a
peace officer for the same violation of Section 545.066 recorded by
the school bus monitoring system.
Sec. 545.457. NOTICE OF VIOLATION; CONTENTS. (a) The
imposition of a penalty under this subchapter is initiated by
mailing a notice of violation to the owner of the motor vehicle
against whom the school district seeks to impose the penalty.
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the violation
is alleged to have occurred, the designated department, agency, or
office of the school district or the entity with which the school
district contracts under Section 545.454 shall mail the notice of
violation to the owner of the motor vehicle at:
(1) the owner's address as shown on the registration
records of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles; or
(2) if the vehicle is registered in another state or
country, the owner's address as shown on the motor vehicle
registration records of the department or agency of the other state
or country analogous to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
(c) The notice of violation must contain:
(1) a description of the violation alleged;
(2) the location where the violation occurred;
(3) the date and time of the violation;
(4) the name and address of the owner of the vehicle
involved in the violation;
(5) the number displayed on the license plate of the
vehicle involved in the violation;
(6) a copy of a recorded image of the violation that
includes a depiction of the number displayed on the license plate of
the vehicle involved in the violation;
(7) the amount of the penalty for which the owner is
liable;
(8) the number of days the person has to pay or contest
the imposition of the penalty;
(9) a statement that the owner of the vehicle in the
notice of violation may elect to pay the penalty instead of
appearing at the time and place of the administrative adjudication
hearing; and
(10) information that informs the owner of the vehicle
named in the notice of violation:
(A) of the owner's right to contest the
imposition of the penalty against the person in an administrative
adjudication hearing;
(B) that imposition of the penalty may be
contested by submitting a written request for an administrative
adjudication hearing before the expiration of the period under
Subdivision (8); and
(C) that failure to pay the penalty or to contest
liability for the penalty in a timely manner is an admission of
liability.
(d) A notice of violation is presumed to have been received
on the fifth day after the date the notice is mailed.
Sec. 545.458. PRESUMPTION. (a) It is presumed that the
owner of a motor vehicle shown in a recorded image of an alleged
violation taken by a school bus monitoring system committed the
alleged violation.
(b) The presumption under Subsection (a) is rebutted on the
presentation of evidence establishing that at the time of the
alleged violation the motor vehicle depicted in the recorded image
taken by a school bus monitoring system was owned by:
(1) a person in the business of selling, renting, or
leasing motor vehicles and the vehicle was:
(A) being test driven by another person; or
(B) being rented or leased by the vehicle's owner
to another person; or
(2) a person who was not the person named in the notice
of violation.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 545.459, the presentation of
evidence under Subsection (b) by a person who is in the business of
selling, renting, or leasing motor vehicles or by a person who did
not own the vehicle at the time of the violation must be made by
affidavit, through testimony at the administrative adjudication
hearing under Section 545.459, or by a written declaration under
penalty of perjury. An affidavit or written declaration may be
submitted by mail to the school district or the entity with which
the school district contracts under Section 545.454.
(d) If the presumption established by Subsection (a) is
rebutted under Subsection (b), a penalty may not be imposed on the
owner of the vehicle or the person named in the notice of violation,
as applicable.
(e) If the motor vehicle depicted in the recorded image
taken by the school bus monitoring system was owned by a person in
the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles and the vehicle
was being rented or leased to an individual at the time of the
alleged violation, the owner of the motor vehicle shall provide to
the school district or the entity with which the school district
contracts under Section 545.454 the name and address of the
individual who was renting or leasing the motor vehicle and a
statement of the date and times during which that individual was
renting or leasing the vehicle. The owner shall provide the
information required by this subsection not later than the 30th day
after the date the notice of violation is received. If the owner
provides the required information, it is presumed that the
individual renting or leasing the motor vehicle committed the
violation alleged in the notice of violation, and the school
district or contractor may send a notice of violation to that
individual at the address provided by the owner of the motor vehicle
or from motor vehicle registration records.
Sec. 545.459. ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION HEARING. (a) A
person who receives a notice of violation under this subchapter may
contest the imposition of the penalty specified in the notice of
violation by filing a written request for an administrative
adjudication hearing. The request for a hearing must be filed on or
before the date specified in the notice of violation, which may not
be earlier than the 30th day after the date the notice of violation
was presumed to have been received.
(b) On receipt of a timely request for an administrative
adjudication hearing, the school district shall notify the person
of the date and time of the hearing.
(c) An administrative adjudication hearing under this
subchapter may be conducted by any justice of the peace court in the
boundaries of the school district where the alleged violation
occurred.
(d) In an administrative adjudication hearing, the
violation must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.
(e) The reliability of the school bus monitoring system used
to produce the recorded image of the motor vehicle involved in the
violation may be attested to by affidavit of an officer or employee
of the school district or of the entity with which the school
district contracts under Section 545.454 who is responsible for
inspecting and maintaining the system.
(f) An affidavit of a peace officer that alleges a violation
based on an inspection of the applicable recorded image is:
(1) admissible in the administrative adjudication
hearing; and
(2) evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit.
(g) At the conclusion of the administrative adjudication
hearing, the hearing officer shall enter a finding of liability or a
finding of no liability for the penalty. A finding under this
subsection must be in writing and be signed and dated by the hearing
officer.
(h) A finding of liability for a penalty must specify the
amount of the penalty for which the person is liable. If the
hearing officer enters a finding of no liability, a penalty for the
violation may not be imposed against the person.
(i) A finding of liability or a finding of no liability
entered under this section may:
(1) be filed with a person designated by the board of
trustees of the school district; or
(2) be recorded:
(A) on microfilm or microfiche; or
(B) using data processing techniques.
Sec. 545.460. IMPOSITION OF PENALTY NOT A CONVICTION. The
imposition of a penalty under this subchapter is not a conviction
and may not be considered a conviction for any purpose.
Sec. 545.461. FAILURE TO PAY PENALTY. (a) If the owner of
the motor vehicle fails to timely pay the amount of the penalty
imposed against the owner:
(1) an arrest warrant may not be issued for the owner;
(2) the imposition of the penalty may not be recorded
on the owner's driving record; and
(3) other than a motor vehicle that is registered
under Section 501.0234, a county assessor-collector or the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles may refuse to register a motor vehicle
if the assessor-collector or the department receives information
from a school district that the owner of the motor vehicle has
failed to timely pay an outstanding penalty imposed under this
subchapter.
(b) Notice of the provisions of Subsection (a) must be
included in the notice of violation required by Section 545.457.
Sec. 545.462. REPORTING. (a) A school district shall
provide the Department of Public Safety written notification of:
(1) the resolution adopted by the school district
under Section 545.453;
(2) the number of school bus monitoring systems
installed on school buses owned by the school district; and
(3) the number of violations issued under this
subchapter.
(b) Notice shall be sent to the Department of Public Safety
by September 1 of each year.
(c) Notice must be delivered by one of the following
methods:
(1) facsimile;
(2) e-mail; or
(3) mail.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 547.701, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) A school bus may be equipped with:
(1) rooftop warning lamps:
(A) that conform to and are placed on the bus in
accordance with specifications adopted under Section 34.002,
Education Code; and
(B) that are operated under rules adopted by the
school district; [and]
(2) movable stop arms:
(A) that conform to regulations adopted under
Section 34.002, Education Code; and
(B) that may be operated only when the bus is
stopped to load or unload students; and
(3) a monitoring system that:
(A) is capable of taking live or recorded
photographic, video, or digital images of vehicles that pass the
bus when the bus is operating a visual signal as required by this
section;
(B) conforms to regulations adopted under
Section 34.002, Education Code; and
(C) is capable of producing a live or recorded
visual image of a person inside the bus that may be viewed from
another location.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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