Bill Text: OR SB787 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to traffic control devices.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2013-07-08 - In committee upon adjournment. [SB787 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2013-SB787-Introduced.html
77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 3314
Senate Bill 787
Sponsored by Senators KNOPP, HASS; Representatives PARRISH, READ
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Authorizes cities and school districts to use cameras to record
drivers failing to obey traffic control devices that are mounted
on school buses. Establishes citation procedures, including sign
requirements. Provides that photographs may be submitted into
evidence only to prove or disprove failure to obey traffic
control device.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to traffic control devices.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Sections 2 to 4 of this 2013 Act are added to
and made a part of the Oregon Vehicle Code. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) Any city or school district may, at its own
cost, operate cameras that are mounted on school buses and that
are designed to photograph drivers who violate ORS 811.265 by
failing to obey a traffic control device that is displayed on a
school bus.
(2) Photographs taken under this section must indicate the
date, time and the location of the violation.
(3) A city or school district that chooses to operate a camera
under this section shall:
(a) Conduct a public information campaign to inform local
drivers about the use of the cameras before the issuance of
citations is begun; and
(b) Once each biennium, conduct an evaluation for the purposes
of subsection (4) of this section that includes:
(A) The effect of the use of the cameras on traffic safety;
(B) The degree of public acceptance of the use of the cameras;
and
(C) The number of citations issued under this section for the
city or school district.
(4) By March 1 of each odd-numbered year, each city or school
district that operates a camera under this section shall present
to the Legislative Assembly the evaluation conducted by the city
or school district under subsection (3) of this section.
(5) As used in this section and section 4 of this 2013 Act, '
school district' has the meaning given that term in ORS
330.005. + }
SECTION 3. { + Photographs taken under section 2 of this 2013
Act may be submitted into evidence in a trial, administrative
proceeding or other judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding only
for the purpose of proving or disproving a violation of ORS
811.265. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
if a city or school district elects to operate a camera under
section 2 of this 2013 Act and the city or school district
complies with this section and section 2 of this 2013 Act, a
citation for violation of ORS 811.265 may be issued on the basis
of photographs taken, by a camera operated under section 2 of
this 2013 Act, without the presence of a police officer if the
following conditions are met:
(a) On each school bus in which a camera is installed and
operational, an exterior sign that indicates that compliance with
traffic control devices is enforced through cameras is posted
next to each traffic control device.
(b) The citation is mailed to the registered owner of the
vehicle, or to the driver if identifiable, within 10 business
days of the alleged violation.
(c) The registered owner is given 30 days from the date the
citation is mailed to respond to the citation.
(d) A police officer who has reviewed the photograph signs the
citation. The citation may be prepared on a digital medium, and
the signature may be electronic in accordance with the provisions
of ORS 84.001 to 84.061.
(2) If the person to which the citation is mailed fails to
respond to the citation, a default judgment under ORS 153.102 may
be entered for failure to appear after notice has been given that
the judgment will be entered.
(3) A rebuttable presumption exists that the registered owner
of the vehicle was the driver of the vehicle when the violation
occurred.
(4) A person issued a citation under subsection (1) of this
section may respond to the citation by submitting a certificate
of innocence, or a certificate of nonliability, under subsection
(6) of this section or any other response allowed by law.
(5) A citation for violation of ORS 811.265 that is issued on
the basis of photographs from a camera installed as provided in
this section and section 2 of this 2013 Act may be delivered by
mail to the registered owner of the vehicle or to the driver if
the driver is identifiable from the photograph.
(6)(a) A registered owner of a vehicle may respond by mail,
within 30 days from the mailing of the citation, to a citation
issued under subsection (1) of this section by submitting to the
court a certificate of innocence swearing or affirming that the
owner was not the driver of the vehicle and by providing a
photocopy of the owner's driver license. A court that receives a
certificate of innocence under this paragraph shall dismiss the
citation without requiring a court appearance by the registered
owner or any other information from the registered owner other
than the swearing or affirmation and the photocopy. The citation
may be reissued only once, only to the registered owner and only
if the citing police officer verifies that the registered owner
appears to have been the driver at the time of the violation. A
registered owner may not submit a certificate of innocence in
response to a reissued citation.
(b) If a business or public agency responds to a citation
issued under subsection (1) of this section by submitting, within
30 days from the mailing of the citation, a certificate of
nonliability stating that at the time of the alleged violation
the vehicle was in the custody and control of an employee or was
in the custody and control of a renter or lessee under the terms
of a motor vehicle rental agreement or lease, and if the business
or public agency provides the driver license number, name and
address of the employee, renter or lessee, the citation shall be
dismissed with respect to the business or public agency. The
citation may then be reissued and delivered by mail to the
employee, renter or lessee identified in the certificate of
nonliability.
(7) The penalties for, and all consequences of, a citation for
a violation of ORS 811.265 initiated by the use of a camera
installed as provided in this section and section 1 of this 2013
Act are the same as for a citation for a violation initiated by
any other means.
(8) A registered owner or an employee, renter or lessee against
whom a judgment for failure to appear is entered may move the
court to relieve the owner or the employee, renter or lessee from
the judgment as provided in ORS 153.105 if the failure to appear
was due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable
neglect. + }
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