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Ohio bill would fund school-bus cameras, tougher penalties and grant program for safety upgrades
Summary
Representatives presented substitute House Bill 3 to create a school-bus safety grant program, broaden permissible on‑bus safety features, tighten penalties for illegally passing stopped school buses and fund a public-awareness campaign; no vote was taken at the committee hearing.
Representative Willis introduced substitute House Bill 3 to the House Finance Committee, outlining a proposal to advance school-bus safety through a mix of criminal penalties, a grant program, and public education.
The bill would strengthen criminal penalties for passing a stopped school bus with flashing lights by setting a $250 minimum fine while giving judges discretion to require an education course and reduce first-offender fines to $150. It would create a School Bus Safety Grant Fund to subsidize a list of 13 safety features recommended by the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group, allow districts to adopt those features on a permissive basis, add a proposed 14th optional feature (silent/push‑to‑talk panic alerts for buses), and appropriate $10,000,000 to support the program. The bill also directs a public service announcement campaign and designates August as School Bus Safety Awareness Month.
Sponsor testimony stressed that the grant program is permissive so districts choose the mix of upgrades that fit local needs; cameras and video capture equipment were repeatedly identified by school districts as the highest near‑term priority. Representative Willis said the technology would allow drivers to “capture the license plate number” and other evidence to streamline reports to law enforcement, reducing the burden on drivers who must keep students safe while noting many drivers said these incidents occur multiple times daily. Committee members asked about privacy protections for students captured on video; Willis responded that the bill is written to preserve evidentiary standards in the Ohio Revised Code and to avoid third‑party contractors automatically issuing citations on the basis of bus‑camera images.
Witnesses and members discussed secondary safety benefits of on‑bus cameras, including documenting interior behavior that can distract drivers, and considered panic alerts that would connect bus staff with first responders. On funding sufficiency, Willis said two‑thirds of districts responded to a survey listing desired features but that it was “not known” yet whether the proposed $10 million would be sufficient statewide. No formal action, amendment, or vote on the bill occurred during the hearing.
The committee concluded the first hearing on substitute House Bill 3 without a committee vote; sponsors invited further questions and continued collaboration.
