A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the use of photographic or video evidence for the civil enforcement of violations for passing a stopped school bus.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 12 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 153A‑246.  Use of photographs or videos recorded by automated school bus safety cameras.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Automated school bus safety camera. – As defined in G.S. 115C‑242.1.
(2)	Officials or agents. – This term includes a local board of education located within the county or a private vendor contracted with under G.S. 115C‑242.1.
(3)	School bus. – As used in G.S. 20‑217.
(b)	Civil Enforcement. – A county may adopt an ordinance for the civil enforcement of G.S. 20‑217 by means of an automated school bus safety camera installed and operated on any school bus located within that county. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 14‑4, in the event that a county adopts an ordinance pursuant to this section, a violation of the ordinance shall not be an infraction. An ordinance authorized by this subsection shall provide all of the following:
(1)	The registered owner of a vehicle shall be responsible for a violation unless the registered owner can furnish evidence that the vehicle was, at the time of the violation, in the care, custody, or control of another person. The registered owner of the vehicle shall not be responsible for the violation if the registered owner of the vehicle, within 30 days after notification of the violation, furnishes the officials or agents of the county that issued the citation either of the following:
a.	An affidavit stating the name and address of the person or company who had the care, custody, and control of the vehicle.
b.	An affidavit stating that the vehicle involved was, at the time, stolen. The affidavit must be supported with evidence that supports the affidavit, including insurance or police report information.
(2)	Subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply, and the registered owner of the vehicle shall not be responsible for, the violation if notice of the violation is given to the registered owner of the vehicle more than 90 days after the date of the violation.
(3)	A violation of the ordinance shall be deemed a noncriminal violation for which a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be assessed, and for which no points authorized by G.S. 20‑16(c) and no insurance points authorized by G.S. 58‑36‑65 shall be assigned to the registered owner or driver of the vehicle.
(4)	The registered owner of the vehicle shall be issued a citation, which shall clearly state the manner in which the violation may be challenged, and the registered owner shall comply with the directions on the citation. The citation shall be processed by officials or agents of the county and shall be forwarded by personal service or first class mail to the address given on the motor vehicle registration. If the registered owner fails to pay the civil penalty or to respond to the citation within the time period specified on the citation, the registered owner shall have waived the right to contest responsibility for the violation and shall be subject to a late penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) in addition to the civil penalty assessed under subdivision (3) of this subsection. In addition, the Division of Motor Vehicles shall refuse to register the motor vehicle for the owner pursuant to G.S. 20‑54(11). The county may establish procedures for providing notice to the Division of Motor Vehicles and for the collection of these penalties and may enforce the penalties by civil action in the nature of debt.
(5)	If a registered owner provides an affidavit, as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, that the vehicle was, at the time of the violation, in the care, custody, or control of another person or company, the identified person or company may be issued a citation, which shall clearly state the manner in which the violation may be challenged, and the identified person or company shall comply with the directions on the citation. The citation shall be processed by officials or agents of the county and shall be forwarded by personal service or first class mail to the address provided in the affidavit. If the identified person or company fails to pay the civil penalty or to respond to the citation within the time period specified on the citation, the identified person or company shall have waived the right to contest responsibility for the violation and shall be subject to a late penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) in addition to the civil penalty assessed under subdivision (3) of this subsection. The county may establish procedures for the collection of these penalties and may enforce the penalties by civil action in the nature of debt.
(6)	The county shall institute a nonjudicial administrative hearing to review objections to citations or penalties issued or assessed under this section. The county shall provide that decisions in such hearings shall be made by persons who are not employed by the county, by the school system, or by any vendor providing automated school bus safety cameras to the county pursuant to G.S. 115C-242.1.
(7)	A county shall not impose a civil penalty under this subsection against a person if that person is charged with violation of G.S. 20‑217 in a criminal pleading arising out of the same facts.
(c)	Notice. – An automated school bus safety camera installed on a school bus must be identified by appropriate warning signs conspicuously posted on the school bus. All warning signs shall be consistent with a statewide standard adopted by the State Board of Education in conjunction with local boards of education that install and operate automated school bus safety cameras on their school buses.
(d)	Application. – Nothing in this section shall be construed to do any of the following:
(1)	Require the installation and operation of automated school bus safety cameras on a school bus.
(2)	Prohibit the use and admissibility of any photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera in any criminal proceeding alleging a violation of G.S. 20‑217.
(3)	Prohibit the imposition of penalties, including the assignment of points authorized by G.S. 20‑16(c) and insurance points authorized by G.S. 58‑36‑65, on any registered owner or driver of the vehicle convicted of a misdemeanor or felony violation of G.S. 20‑217."
SECTION 2.  Article 17 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑242.1.  Installation and operation of automated school bus safety camera.
(a)	Definition. – An "automated school bus safety camera" is a device that is affixed to a school bus, as that term is used in G.S. 20‑217, that is synchronized to automatically record photographs or video of a vehicle at the time the vehicle is detected for a violation of (i) G.S. 20‑217 or (ii) an ordinance adopted under G.S. 153A‑246.
(b)	Installation and Operation. – Automated school bus safety cameras may be installed and operated on any school bus operated by a local board of education within a county that has adopted an ordinance under G.S. 153A‑246 as follows:
(1)	A local board of education may install and operate automated school bus safety cameras without contracting with a private vendor.
(2)	A local board of education may enter into a contract to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras with a private vendor. Contracts shall be let in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The maximum length of any contract entered into under this subdivision shall be three years.
(3)	Upon request by one or more local boards of education, the State Board of Education shall enter into a contract for a statewide service or contracts for regional services to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras with a private vendor. These contracts shall be let in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The maximum length of any contract entered into under this subdivision shall be three years.
(c)	Interlocal Agreements. – Any local board of education and board of county commissioners may enter into an interlocal agreement necessary and proper to effectuate the purpose and intent of this section and G.S. 153A‑246. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection may include provisions on cost‑sharing and reimbursement that the local board of education and board of county commissioners freely and voluntarily agree to for the purposes of effectuating this section and G.S. 153A‑246.
(d)	Evidence in Criminal Proceeding. – Any photographs or videos recorded by an automated school bus safety camera that capture a violation of G.S. 20‑217 shall also be provided to the investigating law enforcement agency for use as evidence in any proceeding alleging a violation of G.S. 20‑217."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑54 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑54.  Authority for refusing registration or certificate of title.
The Division shall refuse registration or issuance of a certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of the following grounds:
…
(11)	The Division has been notified (i) pursuant to G.S. 20‑217(g2) that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay any fine imposed pursuant to G.S. 20‑217 or (ii) pursuant to G.S. 153A‑246(b)(4) that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay a civil penalty under G.S. 153A‑246."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑217 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑217.  Motor vehicles to stop for properly marked and designated school buses in certain instances; evidence of identity of driver.
…
(h)	Automated school bus safety cameras, as defined in G.S. 115C‑242.1, may be used to detect and prosecute violations of this section. Any photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera shall, if consistent with the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, be admissible as evidence in any proceeding alleging a violation of subsection (a) of this section. Failure to produce a photograph or video recorded by an automated school bus safety camera shall not preclude prosecution under this section."
SECTION 5.  The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts shall annually submit a report covering the most recent five years prior to the reporting date to the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force and the North Carolina General Assembly by October 1 on the following information:
(1)	Total number of offenses charged under G.S. 20‑217, by county.
(2)	Total number of convictions under G.S. 20‑217, by county.
SECTION 6.  A county that adopts an ordinance as provided in G.S. 153A‑246, as enacted by this act, shall maintain records of all noncriminal violations of that ordinance for which a civil penalty is assessed. Upon request, the county shall provide at least five years of those records to the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force and the North Carolina General Assembly.
SECTION 6.5.  Within 90 days of the enactment of this act, the State Board of Education shall develop a model contract for use by the local boards of education in letting and awarding contracts in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes for the installation and operation of automated school bus safety cameras as provided in G.S. 115C‑242.1. The State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction shall provide technical assistance to a local board of education on this process upon a request by the local board.
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2015, and applies to offenses and violations committed on or after that date. The requirements in G.S. 115C‑242.1(b)(2), as enacted by this act, shall not apply to a local board of education that entered into a contract prior to July 1, 2015, with a private vendor to install and operate automated school bus safety cameras.