LANSING, Mich. (WWJ) -- A set of bills seeking to protect Michigan students on school buses -- including attaching stop-arm cameras to buses -- is headed to the state Senate after being overwhelmingly approved in the Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday.
House Bills 4201-04 aim to crack down on people who board buses without permission and allow the courts to prosecute drivers who put children in danger.
Rep. Jack O’Malley, representing Michigan’s 101st House District in the northern Lower Peninsula, helped lead the charge on this new legislation. O’Malley has been a “strong and consistent advocate for shoring up safety measures,” according to a press release.
“When parents drop or send their kids off for the bus stop every day, they are trusting that their child will be protected,” the second-term lawmaker from Lake Ann said in a press release. “Over the years, we’ve heard many stories of tragedies that occurred on buses or while children are boarding or exiting a bus. These are sensible reforms that underscore safety.”
The proposed bills would institute a number of new practices, including allowing stop-arm cameras to be installed on buses. Video or photography would be allowed as evidence for law enforcement prosecuting vehicles that illegally pass a school bus. Corresponding legislation will spell out other specifications for any camera usage.
The bills would also set a penalty for anyone that boards a school bus without permission of the driver, as a civil infraction, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500. It would also establish a civil infraction penalty for impeding the progress or operation of a school bus.
It would also allow for a sticker to be affixed to the side of a bus stating that unauthorized individuals attempting to board are subject to a civil infraction and fine.
The bills, which received large bipartisan support through the House Judiciary Committee, will now be considered by the Senate.
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