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An Act To Protect Schoolchildren by Increasing the Penalty for Unlawful Passing of a School Bus
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2308, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
 
6. Penalty.  AExcept for subsection 2, a violation of this section is a Class E crime, which, notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 1301, is punishable by a $250 minimum fine for the first offense and a mandatory 30-day suspension of a driver's license for a 2nd offense occurring within 3 years of the first offense. A violation of subsection 2 is a Class E crime, which, notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 1301, is punishable by a $500 minimum fine for the first offense and a mandatory 60-day suspension of a driver's license for a 2nd offense occurring within 3 years of the first offense.
 
SUMMARY
This bill increases the penalty for overtaking a school bus when the bus has stopped with its red lights flashing from a $250 minimum fine to a $500 minimum fine for the first offense and increases the driver's license suspension from 30 days to 60 days for a 2nd offense.