By Hawley H.B. No. 3249
75R7149 DWS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to school buses; providing a penalty.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 34, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-5 Section 34.0005 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 34.0005. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-7 (1) "Commercial transportation company" means a
1-8 person, other than a governmental entity, transporting students in
1-9 connection with school and related activities under contract with a
1-10 school district.
1-11 (2) "Mass transit authority" means an authority
1-12 governed by Chapter 451 or 452, Transportation Code.
1-13 (3) "Motor bus company" means a person, including a
1-14 lessee, trustee, or receiver of the person but not including a
1-15 governmental entity, who owns, controls, operates, or manages a
1-16 motor-propelled passenger vehicle not usually operated on or over
1-17 rails, who is engaged in the business of transporting persons for
1-18 compensation or hire over a public highway in this state,
1-19 regardless of whether operating over fixed routes or schedules, and
1-20 who is required to operate under the federal motor carrier safety
1-21 regulations as adopted by this state. The term does not include a
1-22 person to the extent that the person:
1-23 (A) operates wholly within a municipality or its
1-24 suburbs;
2-1 (B) uses vehicles that comply with Chapter 601,
2-2 Transportation Code, to provide transportation:
2-3 (i) under contract that stipulates the
2-4 amount of liability insurance coverage required for the vehicles;
2-5 and
2-6 (ii) that is subsidized in whole or part
2-7 by and provided to clients of the:
2-8 (a) Texas Department on
2-9 Aging;
2-10 (b) Texas Commission on
2-11 Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
2-12 (c) Texas Commission for
2-13 the Blind;
2-14 (d) Texas Cancer Council;
2-15 (e) Texas Department of
2-16 Housing and Community Affairs;
2-17 (f) Texas Commission for
2-18 the Deaf and Hard of Hearing;
2-19 (g) Texas Department of
2-20 Health;
2-21 (h) Texas Department of
2-22 Human Services;
2-23 (i) Texas Department of
2-24 Mental Health and Mental Retardation;
2-25 (j) Texas Rehabilitation
2-26 Commission;
2-27 (k) Texas Youth Commission;
3-1 or
3-2 (l) community action
3-3 agencies created under federal law;
3-4 (C) owns, controls, operates, or manages
3-5 vehicles used for vanpooling or another nonprofit ride-sharing
3-6 arrangement by which a group of individuals shares the expense of
3-7 operating or owning and operating a vehicle in which they commute
3-8 to and from work with one member of the group serving as driver in
3-9 exchange for the transportation and reasonable personal use of the
3-10 vehicle; or
3-11 (D) owns, controls, operates, or manages
3-12 motor-propelled taxicabs designed for carrying not more than five
3-13 passengers.
3-14 (4) "School-chartered bus" means a bus designed to
3-15 transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, that is
3-16 operated under a short-term contract providing for exclusive use of
3-17 the vehicle by state or school authorities at a fixed charge to
3-18 provide transportation for a group of students to a special
3-19 school-related event.
3-20 SECTION 2. Section 34.002, Education Code, is amended to
3-21 read as follows:
3-22 Sec. 34.002. SAFETY STANDARDS. (a) The [General Services
3-23 Commission, with the advice of the] Department of Public Safety[,]
3-24 shall establish safety standards for school buses [motor vehicles]
3-25 used to transport students in accordance with Section 547.7015,
3-26 Transportation Code [105, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
3-27 Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
4-1 (b) Each school district shall meet or exceed [comply with]
4-2 the safety standards for school buses [motor vehicles] established
4-3 [by the General Services Commission] under Subsection (a).
4-4 (c) A school district that fails or refuses to meet or
4-5 exceed [comply with] the safety standards for school buses
4-6 established under this section is ineligible to share in the
4-7 transportation allotment under Section 42.155 until the first
4-8 anniversary of the date the district begins complying with the
4-9 safety standards.
4-10 SECTION 3. Section 34.003(b), Education Code, is amended to
4-11 read as follows:
4-12 (b) To transport students in connection with school
4-13 activities other than on school bus routes to and from school:
4-14 (1) only school buses, school-chartered buses
4-15 [chartered] from mass transit authorities or motor bus companies,
4-16 or district-owned buses meeting the safety standards prescribed by
4-17 the federal motor carrier safety regulations set forth in 49 C.F.R.
4-18 Parts 390-397 [for vehicles used by motor bus companies] may be
4-19 used to transport 10 or more students in any one vehicle; and
4-20 (2) passenger cars may be used to transport fewer than
4-21 10 students.
4-22 SECTION 4. Section 34.008, Education Code, is amended to
4-23 read as follows:
4-24 Sec. 34.008. CONTRACT WITH TRANSIT AUTHORITY OR COMMERCIAL
4-25 TRANSPORTATION COMPANY. (a) A board of county school trustees or
4-26 school district board of trustees may contract with a mass transit
4-27 authority or a commercial transportation company for all or any
5-1 part of a district's public school transportation if the authority
5-2 or company:
5-3 (1) requires its school bus drivers to have the
5-4 qualifications required by and to be certified in accordance with
5-5 standards established by the Department of Public Safety; and
5-6 (2) uses only those school buses [motor vehicles] in
5-7 transporting public school students that meet or exceed [satisfy]
5-8 safety standards for school buses [requirements imposed by law on
5-9 school motor vehicles operated by public school transportation
5-10 systems].
5-11 (b) This section does not prohibit the county or school
5-12 district board from supplementing the state transportation cost
5-13 allotment with local funds necessary to provide complete
5-14 transportation services.
5-15 (c) A mass transit authority [or a commercial transportation
5-16 company] contracting under this section for daily transportation of
5-17 pre-primary, primary, or secondary students to or from school shall
5-18 conduct, in a manner and on a schedule approved by the county or
5-19 district school board, the following education programs:
5-20 (1) a program to inform the public that public school
5-21 students will be riding on the authority's or company's buses;
5-22 (2) a program to educate the drivers of the buses to
5-23 be used under the contract of the special needs and problems of
5-24 public school students riding on the buses; and
5-25 (3) a program to educate public school students on bus
5-26 riding safety and any special considerations arising from the use
5-27 of the authority's or company's buses.
6-1 [(d) In this section, "transit authority" includes a
6-2 transportation authority or a transit department.]
6-3 SECTION 5. Section 34.009(b), Education Code, is amended to
6-4 read as follows:
6-5 (b) A school bus that is leased or leased with an option to
6-6 purchase under this section must meet or exceed the safety
6-7 standards for school buses established under Section 547.7015,
6-8 Transportation Code [34.002].
6-9 SECTION 6. Section 521.022, Transportation Code, is amended
6-10 to read as follows:
6-11 Sec. 521.022. RESTRICTIONS ON OPERATORS OF CERTAIN SCHOOL
6-12 BUSES. (a) A person under 18 years of age may not operate a motor
6-13 vehicle while that vehicle is in use as a school bus for the
6-14 transportation of students [pupils] to or from school.
6-15 (b) A person who is 18 years of age or older may not operate
6-16 a motor vehicle while that vehicle is in use as a school bus unless
6-17 the person holds a license to operate a school bus.
6-18 (c) A person may not be employed to operate a motor vehicle
6-19 while that vehicle is in use as a school bus for the transportation
6-20 of students [pupils] unless the person has passed an examination
6-21 approved by the department to determine the person's mental and
6-22 physical capabilities to operate a school bus safely. Each school
6-23 bus operator must pass the examination annually.
6-24 (d) Before employing a person to operate a school bus and
6-25 annually while the person is employed to operate a school bus, a
6-26 driver's license check shall be made with the department and the
6-27 person's driving record must be acceptable according to minimum
7-1 standards adopted [jointly developed] by [the State Board of
7-2 Education and] the department.
7-3 (e) Effective on the date and under provisions determined by
7-4 the department [State Board of Education], a school bus operator
7-5 must hold a school bus safety education certification card
7-6 [certificate] that states that the operator is enrolled in or has
7-7 completed a driver education [training] course [jointly] approved
7-8 by the [State Board of Education and the] department in school bus
7-9 safety education. The card [certificate] is valid for three
7-10 calendar years after the date the course is successfully completed.
7-11 (f) Before a person is employed to operate a school bus to
7-12 transport students, the employer must obtain a criminal history
7-13 record check. A school district, school, service center, or shared
7-14 services arrangement, or a commercial transportation company under
7-15 contract with a school district, that obtains information that a
7-16 person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving
7-17 moral turpitude may not employ the person to drive a school bus on
7-18 which students are transported unless the employment is approved by
7-19 the board of trustees of the school district or the board's
7-20 designee. In this subsection, "commercial transportation company"
7-21 has the meaning assigned by Section 34.0005, Education Code.
7-22 (g) This section does not affect the right of an otherwise
7-23 qualified person with a hearing disability to be licensed,
7-24 certified, and employed as a bus operator for vehicles used to
7-25 transport hearing-impaired persons.
7-26 (h) [(g)] This section does not apply to the operation of a
7-27 vehicle owned by a public institution of higher education to
8-1 transport students of a school district that operates within that
8-2 institution if:
8-3 (1) the person operating the vehicle is approved by
8-4 the institution to operate the vehicle; and
8-5 (2) the transportation is for a special event,
8-6 including a field trip.
8-7 SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
8-8 is amended by adding Section 521.0225 to read as follows:
8-9 Sec. 521.0225. SCHOOL BUS SAFETY EDUCATION CERTIFICATION
8-10 CARD. (a) A person required to hold a school bus safety education
8-11 certification card under Section 521.022 shall:
8-12 (1) have the card in the person's possession while
8-13 transporting students on a school bus; and
8-14 (2) display the card on demand of a magistrate, court
8-15 officer, or peace officer.
8-16 (b) A peace officer may stop and detain a person
8-17 transporting students in a school bus to determine if the person
8-18 has a certification card as required by this section.
8-19 (c) A person who violates Subsection (a) commits an
8-20 offense. An offense under this subsection is punishable as
8-21 provided by Section 521.461, except that if the offense occurs
8-22 before the first anniversary of a previous conviction for an
8-23 offense under the subsection the offense is a misdemeanor
8-24 punishable by a fine of:
8-25 (1) not less than $25 or more than $200, if the person
8-26 has been convicted only once previously for an offense under this
8-27 subsection; or
9-1 (2) not less than $25 or more than $500, if the person
9-2 has been convicted more than once previously for an offense under
9-3 this subsection.
9-4 (d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
9-5 the person charged produces in court a school bus safety education
9-6 certification card:
9-7 (1) issued to that person; and
9-8 (2) valid at the time of the alleged offense.
9-9 (e) The judge of each court shall report promptly to the
9-10 department each conviction obtained in the judge's court under this
9-11 section.
9-12 SECTION 8. Sections 541.201(3), (12), and (15),
9-13 Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
9-14 (3) "Bus" means:
9-15 (A) a motor vehicle used to transport persons
9-16 and designed to accommodate more than 10 passengers, including the
9-17 operator; or
9-18 (B) a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab,
9-19 designed and used to transport persons for compensation.
9-20 (12) "Passenger car" means a motor vehicle, other than
9-21 a motorcycle, used to transport persons and designed to accommodate
9-22 10 or fewer passengers, including the operator.
9-23 (15) "School bus" means a bus used for purposes that
9-24 include regularly transporting students to and from school or
9-25 related events. The term does not include a bus operated by a mass
9-26 transit authority or a school-chartered bus, as those terms are
9-27 defined by Section 34.0005, Education Code [motor vehicle, other
10-1 than a bus used in an urban area by a common carrier to transport
10-2 schoolchildren, that:]
10-3 [(A) is being used to transport children to or
10-4 from a school or school-related activity; and]
10-5 [(B) complies with the color and identification
10-6 requirements provided in the most recent edition of standards
10-7 produced and sponsored by the National Education Association's
10-8 National Commission on Safety Education].
10-9 SECTION 9. Section 545.066, Transportation Code, is amended
10-10 by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
10-11 follows:
10-12 (a) An operator on a highway, when approaching from either
10-13 direction a school bus stopped on the highway to receive or
10-14 discharge a student [schoolchild]:
10-15 (1) shall stop before reaching the school bus when the
10-16 bus is operating a visual signal as required by Section 547.701;
10-17 and
10-18 (2) may not proceed until:
10-19 (A) the school bus resumes motion;
10-20 (B) the operator is signaled by the bus driver
10-21 to proceed; or
10-22 (C) the visual signal is no longer actuated.
10-23 (f) For the purposes of this section:
10-24 (1) a highway is considered to have separate roadways
10-25 only if the highway has roadways separated by an intervening space
10-26 on which operation of vehicles is not permitted, a physical
10-27 barrier, or a clearly indicated dividing section constructed to
11-1 impede vehicular traffic; and
11-2 (2) a highway is not considered to have separate
11-3 roadways if the highway has roadways separated only by a left turn
11-4 lane.
11-5 SECTION 10. Section 545.253(a), Transportation Code, is
11-6 amended to read as follows:
11-7 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator of a
11-8 motor bus carrying passengers for hire [or of a school bus carrying
11-9 a schoolchild], before crossing a railroad grade crossing:
11-10 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
11-11 farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail of the railroad;
11-12 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
11-13 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
11-14 indicating the approach of a train; and
11-15 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
11-16 SECTION 11. Subchapter F, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
11-17 is amended by adding Section 545.2535 to read as follows:
11-18 Sec. 545.2535. SCHOOL BUSES TO STOP AT ALL RAILROAD GRADE
11-19 CROSSINGS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator
11-20 of a school bus transporting a student, before crossing a track at
11-21 a railroad grade crossing:
11-22 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
11-23 farther than 50 feet from the track;
11-24 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
11-25 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
11-26 indicating the approach of a train; and
11-27 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
12-1 (b) After stopping as required by Subsection (a), the
12-2 operator may proceed in a gear that permits the vehicle to complete
12-3 the crossing without a change of gears. The operator may not shift
12-4 gears while crossing the track.
12-5 (c) An operator is not required to stop at:
12-6 (1) an abandoned railroad grade crossing that is
12-7 marked with a sign indicating that the rail line is abandoned; or
12-8 (2) an industrial or spur line railroad grade crossing
12-9 that is marked with a sign reading "exempt."
12-10 (d) An "exempt" sign under Subsection (c)(2) may be erected
12-11 only by or with the consent of the appropriate state or local
12-12 governmental official.
12-13 SECTION 12. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
12-14 is amended by adding Section 545.424 to read as follows:
12-15 Sec. 545.424. ITEMS TRANSPORTED ON CERTAIN BUSES USED TO
12-16 TRANSPORT STUDENTS. (a) This section applies only to a school bus
12-17 or a bus designed to transport more than 10 but less than 16
12-18 passengers, including the operator, that is used to transport
12-19 students.
12-20 (b) Baggage or another item transported in the passenger
12-21 compartment of a bus to which this section applies must be stored
12-22 so that the aisles of the bus remain clear and each door and
12-23 emergency exit of the bus remains accessible while the bus is
12-24 transporting students.
12-25 SECTION 13. Section 547.701, Transportation Code, is amended
12-26 by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
12-27 read as follows:
13-1 (b) A school bus may be equipped with:
13-2 (1) rooftop warning lamps:
13-3 (A) that conform to and are placed on the bus in
13-4 accordance with specifications adopted under Section 547.7015
13-5 [11.12, Education Code]; and
13-6 (B) that [which] may be operated only during
13-7 inclement weather when the bus is stopping or is stopped to load or
13-8 unload students [schoolchildren]; and
13-9 (2) movable stop arms:
13-10 (A) that conform to regulations adopted under
13-11 Section 547.7015 [11.12, Education Code]; and
13-12 (B) that [which] may be operated only when the
13-13 bus is stopped to load or unload students [schoolchildren].
13-14 (c) When a school bus is being stopped or is stopped on a
13-15 highway to permit students to board or alight from the bus, the
13-16 operator of the bus shall activate all flashing warning signal
13-17 lights or other equipment on the bus designed to warn other drivers
13-18 that the bus is stopping to load or unload children. A person may
13-19 not operate such a light or other equipment except when the bus is
13-20 being stopped or is stopped on a highway to permit students to
13-21 board or alight from the bus [A school bus operator shall activate
13-22 the warning equipment designed to warn other vehicle operators that
13-23 the bus is stopping to load or unload children, including flashing
13-24 warning signal lamps, when the bus is stopping or stopped to load
13-25 or unload schoolchildren. A person may not activate the warning
13-26 equipment at any other time].
13-27 (d) The exterior of a school bus may not bear advertising or
14-1 another paid announcement directed at the public if the advertising
14-2 or announcement distracts from the effectiveness of required safety
14-3 warning equipment. The department shall adopt rules to implement
14-4 this subsection. A school bus that violates this section or rules
14-5 adopted under this section shall be placed out of service until it
14-6 complies.
14-7 SECTION 14. Subchapter L, Chapter 547, Transportation Code,
14-8 is amended by adding Section 547.7015 to read as follows:
14-9 Sec. 547.7015. RULES RELATING TO SCHOOL BUSES. (a) The
14-10 department shall adopt and enforce rules regarding safety standards
14-11 for school buses governing the design, color, lighting and other
14-12 equipment, construction, and operation of a school bus for the
14-13 transportation of students that is:
14-14 (1) owned and operated by a school district in this
14-15 state; or
14-16 (2) privately owned and operated under a contract with
14-17 a school district in this state.
14-18 (b) In adopting rules under this section, the department
14-19 shall emphasize:
14-20 (1) safety features; and
14-21 (2) long-range, maintenance-free factors.
14-22 (c) Rules adopted under this section:
14-23 (1) apply to each school district, the officers and
14-24 employees of a district, and each person employed under contract by
14-25 a school district; and
14-26 (2) shall by reference be made a part of any contract
14-27 that is entered into by a school district in this state for the
15-1 transportation of students on a privately owned school bus.
15-2 (d) A school bus must continue to meet or exceed the safety
15-3 standards applicable to the bus for the year it was manufactured.
15-4 The department may inspect a school bus to determine and enforce
15-5 compliance with the safety standards. A bus that does not comply
15-6 with the safety standards shall be placed out of service until it
15-7 complies.
15-8 SECTION 15. (a) In addition to the substantive changes in
15-9 law made by this Act, this Act conforms the Transportation Code to
15-10 changes in law made by Sections 55 and 56, Chapter 260, and Section
15-11 25, Chapter 1009, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
15-12 1995.
15-13 (b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
15-14 another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
15-15 relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
15-16 codes.
15-17 SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
15-18 SECTION 17. The importance of this legislation and the
15-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
15-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
15-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
15-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.