GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2015

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 536*

Short Title:        School Bus Cameras/Civil Penalties.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Hanes, Lambeth, and Tine (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site.
Referred to:	Judiciary II, if favorable, Finance.

April 6, 2015

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to authorize the use of photographic or video evidence for the civil enforcement of violations for passing a stopped school bus.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 12 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 153A‑246.  Use of photographs or videos recorded by automated school bus safety cameras.

(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:

(1) Automated school bus safety camera. – As defined in G.S. 115C‑242.1.

(2) Officials or agents. – This term includes a local board of education located within the county or a private vendor contracted with under G.S. 115C‑242.1.

(3) School bus. – As used in G.S. 20‑217.

(b) Civil Enforcement. – A county may adopt an ordinance for the civil enforcement of G.S. 20‑217 by means of an automated school bus safety camera installed and operated on any school bus located within that county. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 14‑4, in the event that a county adopts an ordinance pursuant to this section, a violation of the ordinance shall not be an infraction. An ordinance authorized by this subsection shall provide that:

(1) The owner of a vehicle shall be responsible for a violation unless the owner can furnish evidence that the vehicle was, at the time of the violation, in the care, custody, or control of another person. The owner of the vehicle shall not be responsible for the violation if the owner of the vehicle, within 30 days after notification of the violation, furnishes the officials or agents of the county that issued the citation either of the following:

a. An affidavit stating the name and address of the person or company who had the care, custody, and control of the vehicle.

b. An affidavit stating that the vehicle involved was, at the time, stolen. The affidavit must be supported with evidence that supports the affidavit, including insurance or police report information.

(2) Subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply, and the registered owner of the vehicle shall not be responsible for the violation, if notice of the violation is given to the registered owner of the vehicle more than 90 days after the date of the violation.

(3) A violation of the ordinance shall be deemed a noncriminal violation for which a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be assessed, and for which no points authorized by G.S. 20‑16(c) and no insurance points authorized by G.S. 58‑36‑65 shall be assigned to the owner or driver of the vehicle.

(4) The owner of the vehicle shall be issued a citation which shall clearly state the manner in which the violation may be challenged, and the owner shall comply with the directions on the citation. The citation shall be processed by officials or agents of the county and shall be forwarded by personal service or first class mail to the address given on the motor vehicle registration. If the owner fails to pay the civil penalty or to respond to the citation within the time period specified on the citation, the owner shall have waived the right to contest responsibility for the violation and shall be subject to a late penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) in addition to the civil penalty assessed under subdivision (3) of this section. In addition, the Division of Motor Vehicles shall refuse to register any motor vehicle for the owner pursuant to G.S. 20‑54(11). The county may establish procedures for providing notice to the Division of Motor Vehicles and for the collection of these penalties and may enforce the penalties by civil action in the nature of debt.

(5) The county shall institute a nonjudicial administrative hearing to review objections to citations or penalties issued or assessed under this section.

(c) Notice. – An automated school bus safety camera installed on a school bus must be identified by appropriate warning signs conspicuously posted on the school bus. All warning signs shall be consistent with a statewide standard adopted by the Department of Public Instruction in conjunction with local boards of education that install and operate automated school bus safety cameras on their school buses.

(d) Application. – Nothing in this section shall be construed to do any of the following:

(1) Require the installation and operation of automated school bus safety cameras on a school bus.

(2) Prohibit the use and admissibility of any photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera in any criminal proceeding alleging a violation of G.S. 20‑217.

(3) Prohibit the imposition of penalties, including the assignment of points authorized by G.S. 20‑16(c) and insurance points authorized by G.S. 58‑36‑65, on any owner or driver of the vehicle convicted of a misdemeanor or felony violation of G.S. 20‑217."

SECTION 2.  Article 17 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 115C‑242.1.  Installation and operation of automated school bus safety camera.

(a) Definition. – An "automated school bus safety camera" is a device that is affixed to a school bus, as that term is used in G.S. 20‑217, that is synchronized to automatically record photographs or video of a vehicle at the time the vehicle is detected for a violation of (i) G.S. 20‑217 or (ii) an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246.

(b) Installation and Operation. – A local board of education located within a county that has adopted an ordinance under G.S. 153A‑246, or a private vendor contracted with in accordance with subsections (c) or (d) of this section, may install and operate automated school bus safety cameras on any school bus operated by the local board of education.

(c) Statewide or Regional Contract. – The Department of Public Instruction is authorized to enter into a contract for a statewide service or contracts for regional services to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, all automated school bus safety cameras installed and operated pursuant to an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246 shall be subject to contracts entered into under this subsection. Contracts shall be let by the Department of Public Instruction in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The maximum length of any contract entered into under this subsection shall be three years.

(d) Exceptions to Statewide or Regional Contract. – The requirement in subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) A local board of education that installs and operates automated school bus safety cameras pursuant to an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246 without contracting with a private vendor for the installation and operation of the automated school bus safety cameras.

(2) A local board of education of a local school administrative unit with an average daily membership of 50,000 students or more. A local board of education meeting the requirement of this subdivision may contract with a private vendor of its own choosing to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras pursuant to an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246. The maximum length of any contract entered into under this subdivision shall be three years.

(3) A local board of education entered into a contract prior to July 1, 2015, with a private vendor to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras.

(e) Evidence in Criminal Proceeding. – Any photographs or videos recorded by an automated school bus safety camera that capture a violation of G.S. 20‑217 shall also be provided to the investigating law enforcement agency for use as evidence in any proceeding alleging a violation of G.S. 20‑217."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑54 reads as rewritten:

"§ 20‑54.  Authority for refusing registration or certificate of title.

The Division shall refuse registration or issuance of a certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of the following grounds:

…

(11)      The Division has been notified (i) pursuant to G.S. 20‑217(g2) that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay any fine imposed pursuant to G.S. 20‑217.G.S. 20‑217 or (ii) pursuant to G.S. 153A‑246(b)(4) that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay a civil penalty under G.S. 153A‑246."

SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑217 reads as rewritten:

"§ 20‑217.  Motor vehicles to stop for properly marked and designated school buses in certain instances; evidence of identity of driver.

…

(h)        Automated camera and video recording systemsAutomated school bus safety cameras, as defined in G.S. 115C‑242.1, may be used to detect and prosecute violations of this section. Any photograph or video recorded by a camera or video recording systeman automated school bus safety camera shall, if consistent with the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, be admissible as evidence in any proceeding alleging a violation of subsection (a) of this section. Failure to produce a photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera shall not preclude prosecution under this section.

(i) In addition to the penalties imposed under this section, the owner or driver of a vehicle may be subject to a civil penalty pursuant to an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246."

SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2015, and applies to offenses and violations committed on or after that date.