Add §223-a, amd §1809, V & T L; amd §3650, Ed L; add §89-i, St Fin L
Provides for the transfer of a portion of fines issued for illegally passing a school bus to the comprehensive school bus driver safety training program for the study and promotion of issues involving school bus safety; establishes a school bus motorist education fund.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
172
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the education law, in
relation to the illegal passing of school buses and to amend the state
finance law, in relation to establishing the school bus motorist
education fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
2 section 223-a to read as follows:
3 § 223-a. School bus motorist education program. The commissioner
4 shall, in conjunction with the governor's traffic safety committee, the
5 departments of education and transportation, the division of state
6 police, and the state comprehensive school bus driver safety training
7 council, design and implement a public education program to educate
8 motorists of the dangers of passing a school bus in violation of section
9 eleven hundred seventy-four of this chapter, to reduce the number of
10 such incidents, and to promote school bus safety.
11 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 1809 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
12 amended by chapter 309 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
13 follows:
14 3. The mandatory surcharge provided for in subdivision one of this
15 section shall be paid to the clerk of the court or administrative tribu-
16 nal that rendered the conviction. Within the first ten days of the month
17 following collection of the mandatory surcharge the collecting authority
18 shall determine the amount of mandatory surcharge collected and, if it
19 is an administrative tribunal or a town or village justice court, it
20 shall pay such money to the state comptroller who shall deposit such
21 money in the state treasury pursuant to section one hundred twenty-one
22 of the state finance law to the credit of the general fund; provided,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01443-01-7
A. 172 2
1 however, that the comptroller shall deposit such money collected for
2 violations of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this chapter to the
3 credit of the school bus motorist education fund established pursuant to
4 section eighty-nine-i of the state finance law. If such collecting
5 authority is any other court of the unified court system, it shall,
6 within such period, pay such money to the state commissioner of taxation
7 and finance to the credit of the criminal justice improvement account
8 established by section ninety-seven-bb of the state finance law;
9 provided, however, that the state commissioner of taxation and finance
10 shall deposit such money collected for violations of section eleven
11 hundred seventy-four of this chapter to the credit of the school bus
12 motorist education fund established pursuant to section eighty-nine-i of
13 the state finance law. The crime victim assistance fee provided for in
14 subdivision one of this section shall be paid to the clerk of the court
15 or administrative tribunal that rendered the conviction. Within the
16 first ten days of the month following collection of the crime victim
17 assistance fee, the collecting authority shall determine the amount of
18 crime victim assistance fee collected and, if it is an administrative
19 tribunal or a town or village justice court, it shall pay such money to
20 the state comptroller who shall deposit such money in the state treasury
21 pursuant to section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to
22 the credit of the criminal justice improvement account established by
23 section ninety-seven-bb of the state finance law.
24 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 3650 of the education law is amended by
25 adding a new paragraph f to read as follows:
26 f. Award and distribute grants, following appropriation by the legis-
27 lature which appropriation may include funds of the school bus motorist
28 education fund established pursuant to section eighty-nine-i of the
29 state finance law, for the study of issues involving the illegal passing
30 of stopped school buses, the development of proposals to reduce the
31 number of motorists passing school buses in violation of section eleven
32 hundred seventy-four of the vehicle and traffic law, and to promote
33 school bus safety.
34 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 89-i to
35 read as follows:
36 § 89-i. The school bus motorist education fund. 1. There is hereby
37 established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the
38 commissioner of taxation and finance a fund known as the school bus
39 motorist education fund.
40 2. Such fund shall consist of monies received by the state from any
41 court of the unified court system pursuant to section eighteen hundred
42 nine of the vehicle and traffic law for violations of section eleven
43 hundred seventy-four of such law, and all other fines, fees, grants,
44 bequests or other monies credited, appropriated or transferred thereto
45 from any other fund or source.
46 3. (a) Fifty percent of the monies of the fund, following appropri-
47 ation by the legislature, shall be made available to the state compre-
48 hensive school bus driver safety training council for the study of the
49 illegal passing of stopped school buses by motorists, and the develop-
50 ment of proposals to reduce the number of motorists passing school buses
51 in violation of section eleven hundred seventy-four of the vehicle and
52 traffic law.
53 (b) The remaining fifty percent of the monies of such fund shall be
54 made available to the department of motor vehicles for the design and
55 implementation, in conjunction with the governor's traffic safety
56 committee, the departments of education and transportation, the division
A. 172 3
1 of the state police, and the state comprehensive school bus driver safe-
2 ty training council, of a public education program to further educate
3 motorists of the dangers of passing a school bus in violation of section
4 eleven hundred seventy-four of the vehicle and traffic law, to reduce
5 the number of such incidents, and to promote school bus safety.
6 4. The monies of the fund made available pursuant to paragraph (a) of
7 subdivision three of this section shall be paid out on the audit and
8 warrant of the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the
9 commissioner of education. The monies of the fund made available pursu-
10 ant to paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section shall be paid
11 out on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers approved and
12 certified by the commissioner of motor vehicles. At the end of each year
13 any monies remaining in the fund shall be retained in the fund and shall
14 not revert to the general fund. The interest and income earned on money
15 in the fund, after deducting any applicable charges, shall be credited
16 to the fund.
17 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
18 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
