H.B. No. 1018
AN ACT
relating to the amount of liability insurance required to be
maintained on certain school buses owned by a motor carrier.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 643.101(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 643.1015, the [The]
department by rule may set the amount of liability insurance
required at an amount that does not exceed the amount required for a
motor carrier under a federal regulation adopted under 49 U.S.C.
Section 13906(a)(1). In setting the amount the department shall
consider:
(1) the class and size of the vehicle; and
(2) the persons or cargo being transported.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 643, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 643.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 643.1015. AMOUNT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN SCHOOL BUSES.
(a) This section applies only to a school bus that:
(1) is owned by a motor carrier required to be
registered under Subchapter B;
(2) is in compliance with the requirements of Chapter
548; and
(3) is operated exclusively within the boundaries of a
municipality by a person who:
(A) holds a driver's license or commercial
driver's license of the appropriate class required for the
operation of the school bus; and
(B) meets the requirements of Section 521.022.
(b) The owner of a school bus shall maintain liability
insurance in the amount of at least $500,000 combined single limit.
(c) In this section, "school bus" means a motor vehicle that
is operated by a motor carrier and used to transport preprimary,
primary, or secondary school students on a route between the
students' residences and a public, private, or parochial school or
day-care facility.
SECTION 3. Section 643.103(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A motor carrier that is required to register under
Subchapter B must file with the department evidence of insurance in
the amounts required by Section 643.101 or 643.1015, or evidence of
financial responsibility as described by Section 643.102, in a form
prescribed by the department. The form must be filed:
(1) at the time of the initial registration;
(2) at the time of a subsequent registration if the
motor carrier was required to be continuously registered under
Subchapter B and the carrier failed to maintain continuous
registration;
(3) at the time a motor carrier changes insurers; and
(4) at the time a motor carrier changes ownership, as
determined by rules adopted by the department.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1018 was passed by the House on April
22, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1018 on May 16, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1018 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 12, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor