HB461 allows the use of “stop arm cameras” on school buses and enforces civil penalties against motor vehicle owners for violations, including fines of up to $1,000, license suspension, and imprisonment.
The House passed HB461 on March 11, 2024, by a vote of 79 to 14. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill is equivalent to placing “red light cameras” on school buses, extending the baneful and coercive “policing-for-profit” schemes employed by state and local governments and (even foreign-owned) third-party companies. Besides, Kentucky law already provides civil penalties for motor vehicle operators witnessed to be in violation of passing a stopped school bus. Hence, the use of “stop arm cameras” is nothing more than a techno-authoritarian method to fast-track an unconstitutional means of taxing citizens. It infringes upon the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment, specifically the accused’s right to privacy and due process.