(Texas Scorecard) – Republicans in the Texas Senate and House want to revive red-light camera ticketing systems on school buses, which were killed in 2019 by conservative activists defending drivers’ due process rights.
State Sen. Donna Campbell of Bulverde and State Rep. Tom Craddick of Midland filed matching measures that would allow Texas school districts to implement photo-enforced ticketing schemes using stop-arm cameras mounted on school buses.
Campbell laid out her measure in a Senate Transportation Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 744 would create an exception to the current ban on red-light cameras, allowing school districts, cities, and counties to issue “civil or criminal charges or citations for violations of passing a stopped school bus based on evidence collected from these detection systems.”
“The intent of the bill is to ensure that we protect children getting on and off the school bus,” Campbell told committee members.
Campbell said illegal passing of stopped school buses is “a significant threat to student safety,” adding that an estimated 45 million illegal passes occur nationwide every year.
“It’s not red-light cameras. It’s cameras on a bus, on the arm, so they can monitor those who pass the buses illegally,” she added.
Lawmakers passed a bipartisan ban of all red-light camera ticketing systems in 2019, following years of efforts by conservative activists to kill the cameras locally. Opponents challenged the systems as policing-for-profit that violated drivers’ due process rights.
Support for the ticketing systems on school buses was further eroded by a multimillion-dollar bribery and kickback scheme involving the now-shuttered Dallas County Schools that landed multiple co-conspirators in prison.
Terri Hall, head of transportation-freedom advocacy group TURF (Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom), testified against SB 744.
“Photo enforcement systems, just like red-light camera ticketing systems, are unconstitutional forms of policing. They fail to make us any safer, and in the case of school bus cameras are a solution in search of a problem,” Hall told committee members.
Hall said a key issue with stop-arm violations is the short warning time drivers receive before the bus activates its red lights and stop arm, leading to unfair tickets.
She also said corruption in the industry is widespread.
“BusPatrol simply is a rebranded version of Force Multiplier Solutions, which was involved in the multimillion-dollar bribery scam that bankrupted the Dallas County Schools system,” she said.
“There are other solutions, like focusing on driver education, improving bus stop placements, and ensuring adequate warning times, that would likely be more effective in protecting children without relying on costly and controversial automated enforcement,” concluded Hall.
Donny Wolfe, vice president of government relations for BusPatrol, testified in favor of SB 744.
BusPatrol is a vendor of school bus stop-arm camera systems, AI-assisted “automated enforcement” technology, and turnkey services, including “evidence package processing” and ticket collections.
Wolfe told committee members that Campbell’s bill would provide “legal clarity, ensuring that communities in every part of Texas, no matter their size or structure, can choose to implement a stop-arm program if they believe it will help protect their children.”
He said the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that all states enact legislation to permit stop-arm cameras on school buses.
“The goal is simple: to deter illegal, dangerous behavior before it becomes deadly,” concluded Wolfe.
“I shouldn’t have to choose between watching the road and protecting a student from speeding vehicles,” testified Jose Javier Vasquez, a bus driver for the United Independent School District in Laredo. “It is nearly impossible to hold these drivers accountable unless a police officer sees it happen.”
Vasquez said SB 744 would give his district the ability to enforce the law and give bus drivers peace of mind.
“Parents trust us to get their kids to and from school safely,” he added.
Henry Stowe with the National Motorists Association, a driver’s rights organization, testified against Campbell’s bill, emphasizing the lack of due process for drivers who are ticketed by camera technology and expected to pay by mail.
“I believe that the two people that were punished for that bribery scandal received more due process than somebody receiving a photo camera ticket,” said Stowe, referencing the Dallas County Schools bus-camera scheme.
“We’re talking about compromising people’s rights in order to prosecute a fine,” he said. “I’m against this bill. It’s horrible.”
Campbell dismissed citizens’ objections.
“It’s all about saving children,” said Campbell. “If you follow the law, there’s no fine.”
Craddick’s companion measure, House Bill 3034, is scheduled to be heard in the House Transportation Committee on March 27.