SRC-MKV H.B. 2043 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 2043
By: Williams (Ogden)
Education
5/10/2001
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires a school bus or mass transit authority motor bus to be
used for the transportation of 10 or more students to and from school.
School buses are also currently required to meet or exceed safety standards
established by the Department of Public Safety with the advice of the
General Services Commission (GSC) and the Texas Education Agency. H.B. 2043
requires a school or motor bus that is put into use transporting students
on or after September 1, 2001, to meet specifications adopted by GSC.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

H.B. 2043 amends the Education Code to replace provisions relating to
safety standards established by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for
school buses used to transport students. The bill requires a school bus
used to transport public school students that is owned and operated by a
school district or that is privately owned and operated under a contract
with a school district to comply with the specifications adopted by the
General Services Commission (GSC) that are in effect on the date the school
bus is manufactured. This provision does not apply to a school-chartered
motor bus or a mass transit authority motor bus and does not apply to a bus
purchased, rented, leased, or chartered, or bus services contracted for
before September 1, 2001. A bus in use on September 1, 2001, that does not
meet the specifications adopted by GSC is authorized to continue in use
until the earlier of September 1, 2006, or the end of the term of a
contract for the use of the bus. A school district that initiates the
operation of a school bus on or after September 1, 2001 in violation of the
specifications is ineligible to receive a transportation allotment until
the first anniversary of the date the district begins to comply with GSC
specifications. School buses that comply with specifications adopted by GSC
or mass transit authority motor buses operating under contract with a
school district are required to be used for transportation of 10 or more
students on routes to and from schools. For fewer than 10 students, the
bill authorizes the use of a passenger car.  

The bill amends the Transportation Code to require the General Services
Commission, with the advice of DPS and the Texas Education Agency, to adopt
and enforce specifications, rather than rules, governing the construction
and design, color, and lighting and other equipment of a school bus used to
transport public school students.  

Effective date: September 1, 2001.