Education Committe Rejects Assemblyman O'Scanlon's Plea Regarding School Bus Cameras

By Monmouth Watchdog
May 25, 2017

Assemblyman Has a Questionable Record Regarding Public Safety Issues

In a stinging rebuke to the aspirations of Republican Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon’s bid for the state Senate seat of Joe Kyrillos in Legislative District 13-- and yet another question mark on his public safety record regarding children--the Assembly Education Committee, by a vote of 9 to 0, voted for Assembly bill A3798, which authorizes the installation of school bus cameras to capture images of those reckless drivers passing school buses while loading and unloading children. This bill now heads to the full Assembly for a vote by all its 80 members—including O’Scanlon.

The bill overwhelmingly passed in the Senate in January.

After impassioned testimony against the bill before the committee, O’Scanlon, utilizing fear and hysteria, feels the input of private contractors serves no legitimate purpose other than to make a profit on the backs of motorists. In furtherance of Mr. O’Scanlons hysteria, he has re-named the bill with the moniker, “Use Our Kids As Pawns To Enrich Corrupt Companies.”

The members of the committee promptly rejected O'Scanlon's pleas, and forwarded the bill to the full Assembly for their vote.


The bill authorizes a municipality or school district operating or providing Type I or Type II school buses that transport students to contract with a private vendor to provide for the installation, operation, and maintenance of a school bus monitoring system for enforcement purposes. The bill provides that a school bus monitoring system must be capable of capturing and producing a record of any occurrence that may be considered illegal passing of a school bus, and include in that recorded image:

1. If the school bus is exhibiting its flashing light;

2. If a motor vehicle passes a school bus;

3. The license plate, make, and model of the violating vehicle;

4. The date, time, and location of the violation.

The bill requires any violation captured in a recorded image produced by a school bus monitoring system to be made available to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the violation occurred. After careful review; the application of good judgement and common sense, A law enforcement officer is tasked to issue a summons within 90 days of determining that a violation occurred. A summons may not be issued for a violation occurring more than 90 days from date of the violation.

Mr. O’Scanlon, of Little Silver, is the Republican nominee running for state Senator, opposing presumptive Democrat nominee, Mr. Sean F. Byrnes of Middletown. O'Scanlon is a staunch Chris Christie ally; voted for the controversial 23-cent a gallon gas tax, and was a member of Christie’s defunct Presidential Leadership Team while the governor mounted a brief and unsuccessful bid for the presidency.


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You can also find this article over on the Patch