By:  Noriega (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                             H.B. No. 1018
	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 25, 2005; 
April 26, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on 
Business and Commerce; May 6, 2005, reported adversely, with 
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, 
Nays 0; May 6, 2005, sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1018                                   By:  Estes


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

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.



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