87S30208 TBO-D
 
  By: Nichols, et al. S.C.R. No. 3
 
 
 
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 Code of Federal 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.