The Mississippi House and Senate will try to negotiate a final version of a bill setting penalties for passing stopped school buses.
The bill, filed by State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville) in response to the 2009 death of 5-year-old Nathan Key who was hit by a car after he got of a bus near his home in Jones County, has become known as “Nathan’s Law.”
The Senate passed McDaniel’s bill which said other motorists should stop at least 30 feet from a stopped school bus. The bill also stated that only hands-free cell phones could be used by motorists in school zones.
However, the bill passed by the House took out the 30-foot buffer zone and the limits on cell phone usage. On Monday the Senate rejected the changes made by the House.
“”We have invited conference with the House,” said McDaniel. “The Lt. Governor has assigned conferees from the Senate in hopes of the House coming to conference to fashion a strong workable bill.
“Our position is that the bill needs to be restored to its original state.”
According to McDaniel, three Senators and three Representatives will be assigned to negotiate the bill. Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant selected McDaniel, along with State Sen. Joey Filligane (R-Sumrall) and State Sen. Michael Watson (R-Pascagoula) to serve as conferees from the Senate.
The Speaker of the House, William J. McCoy (D-Rienzi), will select three conferees from the House.
“We will all come together for a conference to discuss the bill and hopefully put back as much as possible back into the bill,” said McDaniel. “We’re looking at this process taking about a couple of weeks and then we’ll send the bill back to the House.
“You never know how these things will go, however,” added McDaniel. “It could extend longer.”
Lori Key, Nathan’s mother said she hopes the negotiations lead to a “bill that has teeth.”
“I don’t want the watered down version that the House passed,” she said. “They really need to bring the bill back to its original form because it is a doable bill.
“We didn’t just put something together, Chris (McDaniel) and a lot more people worked long and hard on this bill. It was researched thoroughly and has proven to work in other states.
“I hope they do the right thing,” said Key.
Local News
Negotiations scheduled for ‘Nathan’s Law’ bill
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