COLUMBUS, Ohio — Editor's note: The video in the player above describes the bill introduced by State Rep. Bernie Willis.
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) has introduced Senate Bill 329, aimed at enhancing the safety of children traveling to and from school.
"It's critical we prioritize the safety of our kids, especially on the road. According to the State Highway Patrol, they issued 16,000 citations for passing stopped school buses and other school zone violations from 2018 to August of 2023," Gavarone stated in a news release. "This legislation aims to increase awareness of the law and protect our children."
Senate Bill 329 proposes a civil penalty of $300 for drivers who illegally pass school buses but are not criminally cited. The majority of the fine will support school bus safety technology initiatives, with $50 from each fine allocated to the school bus safety fund.
This fund will provide grants to school districts for improving safety features on school buses and assist the Department of Education and Workforce in educating the public on school bus safety laws.
Additionally, the bill designates August as "School Bus Safety Month" to promote awareness about sharing the roads with school buses as the academic year begins.
Other Ohio School Bus Safety Legislation
In addition to Senate Bill 329, Ohio lawmakers have introduced other measures to enhance school bus safety:
State Rep. Bernie Willis (R-Springfield) sponsored the bill and introduced it in the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, according to 10TV in Columbus.
This bill was created following a tragic school bus crash in Clark County, in which an 11-year-old student was killed. HB 279 would provides $25 million in funding for school districts to improve bus safety.
It encourages, but does not mandate, the installation of seatbelts, LED lighting and cameras on school buses and calls for stricter penalties for drivers who illegally pass buses that are loading or unloading children.
"Those features are permissive," Willis told the committee. "There are no mandates, and it allows each school district the flexibility to determine which safety measures best meet their needs."
10TV interviewed Willis on Wednesday about the changes to the legislation. He said he believes it will still be effective without the mandates.
"What we found is districts told us that there are a lot of things they would like to do with their buses," Willis said.
He says only about 5% of districts surveyed around the state wanted seatbelts for their buses.
"But the vast majority of them don't see that as something that they need, but they did say if we can get more LED lighting on our buses to light them up, if we could get cameras on those buses to help the bus driver in identifying people that are passing those buses, then we want those things," Willis said.
After the crash, Governor Mike DeWine formed the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group to come up with recommendations to make buses safer.
Other recent legislation introduced by Sen. Theresa Gavarone
- Senate Bill 324: Requires voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote or updating their registration. This bill aims to strengthen trust and integrity in Ohio's election system.
- Senate Bill 173: Protects Ohio's election officials by preventing their residential and family information from appearing in public records.
- Senate Bill 71: Enacts the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act, which focuses on election reform and transparency.