S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6241
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 5, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEBER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the  education  law,  in
   relation  to  allowing  boards  of cooperative educational services to
   install school bus stop sign cameras

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraphs  1,  1-a,  1-b,  2 and 3 of subdivision (a) of
 section 1174-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by  chapter  145
 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county, city, town or
 village  located  within  a  school  district ("district") OR A BOARD OF
 COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES  ("BOCES")  is  hereby  authorized  and
 empowered  to  adopt  and  amend a local law or ordinance establishing a
 demonstration program imposing monetary liability  on  the  owner  of  a
 vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with section eleven
 hundred  seventy-four  of  this chapter when meeting a school bus marked
 and equipped as provided in  subdivisions  twenty  and  twenty-one-c  of
 section  three hundred seventy-five of this chapter and operated in such
 county, city, town or village, in accordance with the provisions of this
 section. Such demonstration program shall  empower  such  county,  city,
 town  or village to install and operate school bus photo violation moni-
 toring systems which may be stationary  or  mobile,  and  which  may  be
 installed,  pursuant  to  an  agreement  with a school district OR BOCES
 within such county, city, town or village, on  school  buses  owned  and
 operated  by  such school district OR BOCES or privately owned and oper-
 ated for compensation  under  contract  with  such  district  OR  BOCES.
 Provided,  however,  that  (a)  no stationary school bus photo violation
 monitoring system shall be installed or operated by a county, city, town
 or village except on roadways under the  jurisdiction  of  such  county,
 city,  town  or  village,  and  (b) no mobile school bus photo violation
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09320-01-3
              

 S. 6241                             2
 
 monitoring system shall be installed or  operated  on  any  such  school
 buses  unless  such  county,  city, town or village and such district OR
 BOCES enter into an agreement for such installation and operation.
   1-a.  Any  county,  city,  town  or  village,  located within a school
 district OR BOCES, that has adopted a local law or ordinance pursuant to
 this section establishing a demonstration program imposing liability  on
 the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with
 section  eleven  hundred  seventy-four  of  this  chapter when meeting a
 school bus marked and equipped as provided in  subdivisions  twenty  and
 twenty-one-c  of  section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter and
 operated in such county, city, town or village may enter into an  agree-
 ment  with the applicable school district OR BOCES for the installation,
 maintenance and use of school bus photo violation monitoring systems  on
 school  buses  pursuant  to  this  section and section twenty-two of the
 chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen which added  this  section,
 for  the  proper  handling and custody of photographs, microphotographs,
 videotapes, other recorded images and data produced by such systems, and
 for the forwarding of such  photographs,  microphotographs,  videotapes,
 other  recorded  images and data to the applicable county, city, town or
 village. Any agreement entered into hereunder shall be approved by  each
 participating  county,  city,  town or village by a majority vote of the
 voting strength of its governing body and by resolution of the  district
 OR  BOCES  pursuant  to  section sixteen hundred four, section seventeen
 hundred nine, section twenty-five  hundred  three,  section  twenty-five
 hundred fifty-four or section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of the educa-
 tion  law,  as  applicable.  Provided, however, that where a district OR
 BOCES has entered an agreement as provided hereunder with a  county,  no
 cities, towns or villages within the same county may enter into, or be a
 party  to,  any  agreement  with such district OR BOCES pursuant to this
 section. Provided further, however, that no county shall enter an agree-
 ment with any city school district OR BOCES wholly  contained  within  a
 city.  Nothing  in  this section shall be construed to prevent a county,
 city, town, village or district OR BOCES at any time to withdraw from or
 terminate an agreement entered pursuant  to  this  section  and  section
 twenty-two  of  the  chapter of the laws of [2019] TWO-THOUSAND NINETEEN
 which added this section.
   1-b. The total cost to the district  OR  BOCES  of  the  installation,
 maintenance  and  use  of  school bus photo violation monitoring systems
 pursuant to this section shall be borne entirely by  the  county,  city,
 town  or  village  within the district OR BOCES which is a party to such
 agreement. On or before September first of each year,  the  district  OR
 BOCES  shall determine and certify to each county, city, town or village
 with which it has entered into an agreement pursuant to this section the
 total cost to the district OR BOCES  for  the  school  year  ending  the
 preceding  June  thirtieth  of  installing,  maintaining  and using such
 systems within each such county, city, town  or  village,  respectively,
 for  the  proper  handling and custody of photographs, microphotographs,
 videotapes, other recorded images and data produced by such systems, and
 for the forwarding of such  photographs,  microphotographs,  videotapes,
 other  recorded  images and data to the applicable county, city, town or
 village. On or before the following December first of  each  year,  each
 such  county,  city,  town or village shall pay to the district OR BOCES
 such cost so certified to it on or before the preceding September first.
 Not later than twenty days after each such payment is  submitted  or  is
 due,  whichever  occurs first, the district OR BOCES shall submit to the
 director of the budget and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees  of
 S. 6241                             3
 
 the  legislature  a  report for each such county, city, town and village
 showing the amount of costs so certified and the amount of  payments  so
 received  or  due.  If a county, city, town or village fails to make the
 payment required to the district OR BOCES by the twentieth day after the
 date  such  payment  was due, (i) the district OR BOCES shall notify the
 director of the budget and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees  of
 the legislature of such occurrence within twenty-four hours of such day;
 and  (ii) the demonstration program shall be suspended within such coun-
 ty, city, town, or village until such time as such county,  city,  town,
 or  village  makes  the  payment  required to the district OR BOCES. The
 district OR BOCES shall notify the director of the budget and the chair-
 persons of the fiscal committees of  the  legislature  of  such  payment
 within  seven  business days of its receipt. Provided, however, that any
 notice of liability issued prior to such date shall not be voided.
   2. Any image or images captured by school bus photo violation monitor-
 ing  systems  shall  be  inadmissible  in  any  disciplinary  proceeding
 convened  by  any  school district OR BOCES or any school bus contractor
 thereof, and any proceeding initiated by the department involving licen-
 sure privileges of school bus operators. Any school bus photo  violation
 monitoring  device  mounted  on a school bus shall be directed outwardly
 from such school bus to capture images of vehicles operated in violation
 of section eleven hundred  seventy-four  of  this  chapter,  and  images
 produced by such device shall not be used for any other purpose.
   3.  (i) Any participating school district OR BOCES shall be prohibited
 from accessing  any  photographs,  microphotographs,  videotapes,  other
 recorded  images  or  data  from  school  bus photo violation monitoring
 systems but shall provide, pursuant to an agreement with a county, city,
 town or village as provided in this section, for the proper handling and
 custody  of  such  photographs,  microphotographs,   videotapes,   other
 recorded  images and data produced by such systems, and for the forward-
 ing of such photographs, microphotographs,  videotapes,  other  recorded
 images  and data to the applicable county, city, town or village for the
 purpose of determining whether a motor vehicle was operated in violation
 of subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this  title
 and  imposing  monetary  liability  on  the  owner of such motor vehicle
 therefor.
   (ii) Photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded  images
 and data produced by school bus photo violation monitoring systems shall
 be destroyed (A) ninety days after the date of the alleged imposition of
 liability  if a notice of liability is not issued for such alleged impo-
 sition of liability pursuant to this section or (B) upon final  disposi-
 tion of a notice of liability issued pursuant to this section.
   §  2.  Section  1950  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 20 to read as follows:
   20. TO PASS A RESOLUTION, IN THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD OF SUCH BOARD
 OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES,  AUTHORIZING  THE  ENTERING  OF  AN
 AGREEMENT WITH A COUNTY, CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWN WITHIN SUCH DISTRICT, FOR
 THE  INSTALLATION  AND  USE  OF  SCHOOL  BUS  PHOTO VIOLATION MONITORING
 SYSTEMS PURSUANT TO SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR-A OF THE VEHICLE
 AND TRAFFIC LAW, PROVIDED THAT THE PURCHASE, LEASE, INSTALLATION, OPERA-
 TION AND MAINTENANCE, OR ANY OTHER COSTS ASSOCIATED  WITH  SUCH  CAMERAS
 SHALL  NOT  BE CONSIDERED AN AIDABLE EXPENSE PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-
 SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE-A OF THIS CHAPTER.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.