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Minutes for HB2154 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Authorizing the department of education to contract with a private vendor to install and operate school bus cameras.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 10, 2021
Chairperson opened the meeting and the hearing on HB2154.
Natalie Scott provided a brief description of the HB2154. (Attachment1) She stood for questions.
Jim Potter testified in support of HB2154 (Attachment 2) providing information where in a 30 day survey of 57 school districts there were 9,967 violations. Unfortunately there continues to be the statistics and now a death of a student in September of 2020 in Kansas. He explained a committee within the Kansas Board of Education was put together to investigate and make recommendations for addressing this ongoing issue. Mr Potter and the Kansas Board of Education believe this bill is a positive step forward in the effort to reduce the number of violations of the stop arm law, thus reducing the risk to Kansas school children. This type of enforcement works successfully in other states such as Alabama, Illinois, Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Georgia and Maryland.
Jim Karleskint testified in support of the HB2154 (Attachment 3) stating he and others are working to create a safe environment for our children to utilize transportation to school. Stop arm cameras by themselves are not effective without a supporting process that results in violations for those who break the law. HB2154 would accomplish this by providing flexibility for the Kansas State Department of Education and School Districts to enforce stop arm violations using cameras along with a civil penalty process with no cost to the district. The process requires a positive identification of the registered owner of the vehicle and verification of the violator. This bill would provide the capability to process a large number of violations and provide for vigorous compliance with the law and improve the safety of students riding Kansas school buses.
Randall Collins (Attachment 4) shared a video with the membership demonstrating the extreme violations that are occurring during transportation of students in Kansas. He stated this type of activity happens every day across Kansas and this legislation is very necessary.
Rick Giefer testified asking the membership to support HB2154 (Attachment 5) that will hold drivers of vehicles accountable when they choose to run the stop arm on school buses. Mr. Giefer stated we need to reduce the possibilities of Kansas students being injured when they ride on the school buses.
Lisa Riveros stated that the Wichita Public Schools has tried to address this issue in their community. (Attachment 6) Over the years, they have worked with our Strategic Communications department to raise awareness through social media. They have also partnered with their local news channels to provide data and released stories that raise awareness on the issue. Additionally, they partner with the Wichita Police Department to provide locations and times their bus drivers report experiencing the largest number of violations. Although those measures help temporarily, they only act as Band-Aid, that once removed continue to show signs of a much bigger problem. After a month or so, they begin to receive reports that violations have again increased and things are back to the way they were prior to those interventions. Ms. Riveros stated that through the enactment of HB2154 they feel they will see a consistent reduction in the number of violations and ultimately help keep their children safe.
Ed Klump testified in support of (Attachment 7). This bill is about protection of our children. The purpose of the stop arm laws is to provide safe entry and exit of our children using the school buses. It was alarming to see the number of violations occurring across the state reflected in the survey data. The information from the survey is in the attached testimony from Mr. Klumpp.
Jean Souliere, from BusPatrol, (Attachment 8) a vendor who supplies Stop Arm technologies for school buses, used a presentation to go truth the mechanics of how the technology works from installation, to it's use, when violations occur, and the impact to the violator. He provided supporting data on it's impact on improving the safety of school bus transportation.
The meeting continued with a lot of discussion and questions to Mr Souliere regarding BusPatrol's product.
Written Proponents
- Wayne Burke, Superintendent, USD230 (Attachment 9)
- Glen Suppes, Superintendent, USD400 (Attachment 10)
- Traci Becker, Superintendent, USD349 (Attachment 11)
Chairperson Patton closed the hearing on HB2154.
Chairperson Patton told the membership that a couple of bills coming from House Judiciary were above the line tomorrow at session and if those carrying those bills needed his assistance, to please contact him.
Also that he is planning on working the following bills at tomorrow's meeting: HB2076, HB2093, HB2098, HB2125, HB2127, HB2152, and HB2227.
Chairperson Patton adjourned the meeting at 4:54 p.m.
