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House Bill 3457 |
House Author: Hochberg |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 3457 amends the Education Code to prohibit the driver of a school bus equipped with a diesel engine from allowing the bus engine to idle while the bus is parked at a school or school event except for the minimum time necessary to heat or cool the bus before departure or as necessary to accommodate the physical needs of a student who receives special education services.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill No. 3457 would prohibit school buses from idling while parked on a school campus or at a school event under certain circumstances. I believe educators should be focusing on more pressing priorities, such as: teaching a standards-based curriculum; providing a classroom environment conducive to children with special needs; providing free lunch for students from low-income families; providing a safe learning environment; providing extra-curricular activities such as athletics, the arts and band; providing a bilingual education to more than 600,000 students who speak English as a second language; operating day and after-school programs, and; providing after-hour tutoring services. These are the core functions of our education system. If schools believe they should also regulate and enforce school bus idling policies, I think they should do so, not because it is mandated by the state, but because they have chosen to do so as a matter of policy decided on the local level.
"I am also concerned that schools would have a difficult time enforcing this law with regard to the provision prohibiting a school bus engine from idling for more than the minimum time necessary to heat or cool the bus before departure."