School bus safety bill alive in weakened form

State News

March 4, 2010

Associated Press Associated Press Thu Mar 04, 2010, 09:34 AM CST

JACKSON — What began as a comprehensive school bus safety bill is still alive at the Capitol, but in a weakened form.

The House overwhelmingly passed the bill on Tuesday, a day after that chamber’s Judiciary A Committee removed several provisions that had been in the original bill.

Committee Chairman Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, said he had numerous concerns about the bill, including provisions to create a 30-foot buffer zone around a stopped school bus and a requirement that only hands-free cell phones be used by motorists in school zones. His committee removed both measures.

Blackmon said the buffer zone would be hard to enforce in “an urban environment” where there’s usually bumper-to-bumper traffic. He said some motorists may not be aware of when they’re entering or leaving a school zone.

Blackmon also said it was “ridiculous” to include a five-year prison sentence for someone convicted of injuring a child while passing a school bus on a first offense. He said under current law a person could be charged with aggravated assault and face up to a 20-year sentence for the same reason.

The bill was filed by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, in response to last year’s death of 5-year-old Nathan Key, a Jones County boy who was hit by a car after he got off a bus.

“The bill as it left the Senate is an insult to the legacy of the child who lost his life,” Blackmon said. “The only way it could be salvaged is the way I did it.”

The bill passed the Senate without opposition and wasn’t changed from its original form.

Supporters of the bill are urging lawmakers to restore some of the provisions. Jones County Sheriff Alex Hodge and about two dozen residents wearing T-shirts with Nathan’s picture on it joined McDaniel at a news conference Tuesday at the Capitol.

McDaniel defended the provisions that were stripped by the House. He said the hands-free provision is a law that’s been passed in Texas and Illinois, “and has been working extremely well.”

McDaniel said the first-offense felony language was needed because the current law is difficult to enforce because prosecutors have to prove a motorist intentionally tried to hit the child.

“It’s a much higher standard,” McDaniel said. “We’re trying to fill a hole in the law. If Nathan had been injured, it would have been difficult to charge the person with a felony.”

The child was struck by a car and killed Dec. 11 after he got off of a school bus in front of his home in Laurel. Authorities have charged Dominic Gebben with manslaughter and felony fleeing the scene. Gebben was accused of trying to pass the stopped school bus.

Since the accident, Hodge said he’s been conducting sting operations to catch drivers who pass school buses. The sheriff said two people received $375 tickets for going around a stopped bus.

“The first one we stopped said he was half-asleep. The other one said he didn’t see the school bus. How can you not see a school bus?” Hodge said.

The bill now goes back to Senate, where lawmakers can accept the changes or vote to allow House and Senate negotiators to work on an agreement.

Oneter Sims, a mother of two who traveled from Laurel to the Capitol on Tuesday, said she’s glad the bill is still alive.

“My children ride the bus to schools. We send them off to school and they come home from school and we think they’re safe,” Sims said. “This is a good law to be passed so another mother and father won’t have to suffer.”

The bill is Senate Bill 2505.

Text Only

State News

New rules, tests proposed for public aid in Miss.
People who receive public assistance would be subject to random testing for drugs or nicotine and would have to perform community service under new requirements being considered by Mississippi lawmakers.

February 4, 2012
Home strengthening may lower insurance
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said he is working with legislators on a bill that would require insurers to offer discounts to homeowners who have strengthened homes against wind damage.
State officials told the Sun Herald that they hope the reinforcement of roofing, doors, windows and other components also will qualify homeowners for insurance discounts, although there are no guarantees.

February 4, 2012
Inmate asks courts to stop execution
Condemned inmate Edwin Hart Turner’s lawyer told a federal judge Friday that a corrections policy prevented Turner from getting tests that could prove he’s mentally ill and ineligible for execution.

February 4, 2012
Pardoned killer to fight return to Mississippi
A convicted murderer who left Mississippi after being pardoned by former Gov. Haley Barbour seems poised to fight attempts to force him to return from Wyoming. Joseph Ozment’s attorney, Robert Moxley, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he will defend Ozment’s freedom if he decides to try to stay in Wyoming.

February 3, 2012
Universities say financial aid fund running short
Recipients of state scholarships could see their aid packages trimmed unless the Mississippi Legislature puts more money into financial aid. That includes the more than 20,000 students who receive the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant.

February 3, 2012
Bad info infuriated kin of pardoned man’s victims
In another twist in the often confusing aftermath of pardons granted by former Gov. Haley Barbour on his way out of office, Mississippi corrections officials said Tuesday that victims’ relatives were given bad information by the state that fanned their outrage.

February 2, 2012
Bryant’s 1st Miss. budget carries ’lots of cuts’
Gov. Phil Bryant proposed Tuesday to cut state spending by $26 million to $5.49 billion in 2013 while also insisting on building $100 million in state reserves.
The newly inaugurated Republican summarized his first budget as a “lot of cuts,” saying he won’t raise taxes and that state revenues have yet to recover from the recession.

February 2, 2012
Miss. schools request more cash in lean budget
Mississippi’s top education official is asking for an additional $305 million for the coming year — a request he acknowledges is unlikely to be fulfilled. State Superintendent of Education Tom Burnham told House budget writers Tuesday that the biggest part of the request is $255 million to meet requirements of a complex funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

February 1, 2012
Major GOP ‘super PAC’ raised $51 million in 2011
American Crossroads, the Republican “super” political committee that plans to play a major role in this year’s presidential campaign, raised more than $51 million along with its nonprofit arm last year, The Associated Press has learned.

February 1, 2012
Miss. AG: Pardoned killer found in Wyoming
A convicted killer pardoned by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was in Wyoming with his fiancee and tried to flee when he was found Sunday by investigators who served him with a court summons, authorities said Monday.

January 31, 2012
More State News Headlines

State News

Search Results

School bus safety bill alive in weakened form

Site Map

Contact Us