(Albany, NY)- State Senator Bonacic (R/C/I-Mt. Hope) is pleased to announce the passage of Senate Bill S.1064 which passed today in the New York State Senate. This legislation, which he sponsors, will increase penalties for drivers who repeatedly pass a stopped school bus.

The bill will enhance current penalties for passing a stopped school bus by adding a sixty (60) day suspension of an individual’s driver’s license when a holder is convicted two or more times of passing a stopped school bus within a period of ten years. Current law provides that an individual convicted two or more times of speeding in a construction zone be subject to a sixty-day suspension of his or her driver’s license, but does not provide the same penalty for passing a stopped school bus two or more times.

“This bill is intended to make our roads safer for our school children,” said Senator Bonacic. “It’s bad enough that a driver passes a stopped school bus once, but to do it twice is unacceptable, and this law will dramatically impact those drivers who ignore this important law, and will encourage others to think twice when coming upon a stopped school bus.”

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.