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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Each day, more than 26 million students rely on |
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school buses for safe transportation, and many school districts |
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have experienced difficulty in keeping up with this demand due to |
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federal licensing requirements that have exacerbated the shortage |
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of school bus drivers; and |
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WHEREAS, Part 383 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety |
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Regulations requires school bus drivers to obtain a Commercial |
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Driver's License, but the application process has included |
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unnecessary obstacles to meeting this obligation; for example, the |
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testing and training portions of the CDL application were |
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previously handled by different third-party skills examiners, |
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which limited applicants' ability to complete the exams if they did |
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not have access to both a tester and a trainer; a recent change to |
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this rule helps states streamline the process of obtaining a CDL by |
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allowing the same examiner to both test and train an applicant, |
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revealing that with less federal interference, states can license |
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school bus drivers more efficiently; and |
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WHEREAS, According to a survey conducted by School Bus Fleet |
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Magazine, most school districts have endured some degree of bus |
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driver shortage, and data from the National Association for Pupil |
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Transportation reveals that many school districts consider CDL |
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requirements to be a major factor in their ability to recruit and |
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retain bus drivers; one Texas school district has successfully |
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overcome its shortage, but only through costly training programs |
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that compensate new drivers as they complete the CDL application; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, School districts that provide valuable |
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transportation services are burdened by a flawed federal system |
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with inefficient licensing requirements, and Congress should solve |
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this problem by allowing states to establish regulations according |
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to their own needs; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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3rd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the |
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United States to pass legislation that would grant licensing |
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authority for public school bus drivers to the states; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the Senate |
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on October 5, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House |
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on October 17, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 2, |
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two present not voting. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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Approved: |
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______________________________ |
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Date |
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______________________________ |
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Governor |