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House panel advances bill to clarify drivers must stop when school-bus red lights flash
Summary
Lawmakers advanced House File 3,436 to clarify that flashing red lights on a school bus (not whether a stop arm is fully extended) trigger a duty to stop, following testimony from school-bus operators and law enforcement citing a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that created enforcement uncertainty.
Representative Allen told the committee House File 3,436 would remove statutory ambiguity about when motorists must stop for school buses. "The visual signal that matters the most is the flashing red lights," Allen said, arguing the change restores the "common sense intent" of the law and prevents drivers from exploiting technical arguments about stop-arm position.
Testimony came from Katherine Forwart (Minnesota School Bus Operators Association), who said the Minnesota Supreme Court's recent ruling that focused on stop-arm extension had created a "dangerous window of time" between flashing red lights and full stop-arm deployment. "If red lights are flashing, motorists must stop," Forwart said, adding that the bill's immediate-effective-date request was important because "students are on buses today and we cannot afford ambiguity in the law when children's lives are involved."
Garrett Reagan (Minnesota Coaches) and a state patrol lieutenant said the industry and law enforcement support the clarification. The committee moved HF 3,436 to the general register by voice vote.
Next steps: HF 3,436 advances to the general register for further House action. Supporters asked for standalone, immediate-effective-date treatment to allow rapid implementation if the Legislature approves the statutory change.
