Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 3249 amends the Education, Transportation, and Government codes to authorize a commercial transportation company to obtain a criminal history record for a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide when providing transportation services under contract with a school system, and it prohibits a commercial transportation company from employing a person convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude without permission from the appropriate authority.

            House Bill 3249 amends the Education Code to transfer the authority to establish safety standards for school buses from the General Services Commission to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The act authorizes the use of mass transit authority motor buses to transport students to and from school and motor buses and passenger vans to transport students in connection with other school activities. The Transportation Code is amended to require a school bus driver's driving record to be checked annually with the department, and a school bus driver is required to be certified in school bus safety education or enrolled in a school bus safety education class. The act exempts a school bus driver from the requirement to stop the school bus at a railroad grade crossing if the crossing is abandoned and marked with a "tracks out of service" sign or is an industrial or spur line marked with an "exempt" sign. House Bill 3249 also prohibits the display of advertising or other paid announcements that distract from the effectiveness of required safety warning equipment on the exterior of a school bus.