Senate Bill S3605

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3605
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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, paragraphs 1, 1-a  and  2
 as  amended  by  section 1 of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2024,
 and paragraphs 1-b and 3 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 subdivision
 (a) of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this article 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 monitoring 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 operated 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,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07636-01-5
              

 S. 3605                             2
 
 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 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
 subdivision  (a)  of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this article
 when meeting a school bus marked and equipped as  provided  in  subdivi-
 sions  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 agreement 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 ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE 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 education law,  as  applica-
 ble.  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 agreement 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  chapter  one
 hundred  forty-five  of  the  laws of 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.
 S. 3605                             3
 
 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
 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  subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this arti-
 cle, 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
 S. 3605                             4
 
 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 provided, however that the
 amendments  to  section 1174-a of the vehicle and traffic law as made by
 section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section  and
 shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith.