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.
State News
School bus safety bill alive in weakened form
- State News
-
-
Obama honors fallen troops at Arlington Cemetery
President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive “to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice.”
-
Bryants now living in Miss. Governor’s Mansion
Gov. Phil Bryant and his wife, Deborah, have started living in the renovated Governor’s Mansion, more than four months after he took office. “We’ve got a bed, a couch, a chair, a television,” the governor said. “We’re sort of camping out.”
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
-
Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
As many as four to eight of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial outlook for the six-month storm season that officially begins June 1. One to three of those could become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher. -
Miss. court sets execution dates for 2 of 3 men
Mississippi will not execute three men on three consecutive days in June, after the state Supreme Court set execution dates a week apart for two men and declined to set a date for a third.
-
New, old law makers tout legislative successes
Four state law makers held a legislative review for members of the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce at the newly opened Southern Char restaurant Tuesday night to share with business owners information about new bills and laws that have been passed.
-
Prosecutors: Delay sentencing in hate crime case
Federal prosecutors want to delay the sentencing of three white men who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a months-long pattern of harassing blacks that culminated in the fatal rundown of James Craig Anderson.
-
Bryant signs laws affecting students and veterans
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Wednesday that requires kindergarteners or first-graders to be tested for dyslexia, a reading disorder that can sometimes go undiagnosed for years and leave children struggling to learn.
-
Losing bidder sues over revised bid at state port
A contract dispute has put on hold elevation work at the state port in Gulfport.
The port’s West Pier is being expanded, elevated and updated to house a modern containerized cargo operation. When completed, the pier will include 180 acres elevated for storm-surge protection by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level. -
Mom of man in sisters abduction gets new charge
Prosecutors have increased the severity of charges against the mother of a man who abducted two young Tennessee girls after he killed their mother and oldest sister.
- More State News Headlines
-
Obama honors fallen troops at Arlington Cemetery
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
