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The South Carolina House has approved a bill that increases the penalties for passing a stopped school bus and requires all buses to have longer stop sign arms to extend across a lane of traffic.

The bill approved on a 101-8 vote Wednesday also gives the state education superintendent the power to move a bus stop if she thinks it is in a dangerous location.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

The current minimum fine for passing a stopped school bus is $500. The bill increases the minimum fine to $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for later offenses.

Supporters of the bill said the extra fines can pay for extended stop sign arms. But with only about 50 people a year convicted of passing a stopped school bus, the fines won’t come close to covering the more than $10 million needed to buy the new equipment for all buses.

Topics K-12 Education South Carolina