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