By: Giddings (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 3190
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 14, 2007;
  May 15, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Transportation and Homeland Security; May 18, 2007, reported
  adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following
  vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 2007, sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3190 By:  Carona
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to school bus safety; creating an offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 521.022(d), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A person may not operate a school bus for the
  transportation of students unless the person's driving record is
  acceptable according to minimum standards adopted by the
  department. A check of the person's driving record shall be made
  with the department annually. The minimum standards adopted by the
  department must provide that a person's driving record is not
  acceptable if the person has been convicted of an offense under
  Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, within the
  10-year period preceding the date of the check of the person's
  driving record.
         SECTION 2.  Section 541.201, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subdivision (11-a) and amending Subdivision (15) to read
  as follows:
               (11-a)  "Multifunction school activity bus" means a
  motor vehicle that was manufactured in compliance with the federal
  motor vehicle safety standards for school buses in effect on the
  date of manufacture other than the standards requiring the bus to
  display alternately flashing red lights and to be equipped with
  movable stop arms, and that is used to transport preprimary,
  primary, or secondary students on a school-related activity trip
  other than on routes to and from school. The term does not include a
  school bus, a school activity bus, a school-chartered bus, or a bus
  operated by a mass transit authority.
               (15)  "School activity bus" means a bus designed to
  accommodate more than 15 passengers, including the operator, that
  is owned, operated, rented, or leased by a school district, county
  school, open-enrollment charter school, regional education service
  center, or shared services arrangement and that is used to
  transport public school students on a school-related activity trip,
  other than on routes to and from school. The term does not include a
  chartered bus, a bus operated by a mass transit authority, [or] a
  school bus, or a multifunction school activity bus.
         SECTION 3.  Section 545.001, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 545.001.  DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Pass" [, "pass"] or "passing" used in reference
  to a vehicle means to overtake and proceed past another vehicle
  moving in the same direction as the passing vehicle or to attempt
  that maneuver.
               (2)  "School bus" includes a multifunction school
  activity bus.
         SECTION 4.  Section 545.413(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if:
               (1)  the person:
                     (A) [(1)]  is at least 15 years of age;
                     (B) [(2)]  is riding in the front seat of a
  passenger vehicle while the vehicle is being operated;
                     (C) [(3)]  is occupying a seat that is equipped
  with a safety belt; and
                     (D) [(4)]  is not secured by a safety belt; or
               (2)  as the operator of a school bus equipped with a
  safety belt for the operator's seat, the person is not secured by
  the safety belt.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 545.426 to read as follows:
         Sec. 545.426.  OPERATION OF SCHOOL BUS. (a)  A person may
  not operate a school bus if:
               (1)  the door of the school bus is open; or
               (2)  the number of passengers on the bus is greater than
  the manufacturer's design capacity for the bus.
         (b)  An operator of a school bus, while operating the bus,
  shall prohibit a passenger from:
               (1)  standing in the bus; or
               (2)  sitting:
                     (A)  on the floor of the bus; or
                     (B)  in any location on the bus that is not
  designed as a seat.
         (c)  The department may adopt rules necessary to administer
  and enforce this section.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter L, Chapter 547, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 547.7012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 547.7012.  REQUIREMENTS FOR MULTIFUNCTION SCHOOL
  ACTIVITY BUSES. A multifunction school activity bus may not be
  painted National School Bus Glossy Yellow.
         SECTION 7.  Chapter 34, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Section 34.0021 to read as follows:
         Sec. 34.0021.  SCHOOL BUS EMERGENCY EVACUATION TRAINING.
  (a) Pursuant to the safety standards established by the Department
  of Public Safety under Section 34.002, each school district shall
  conduct a training session for students and teachers concerning
  procedures for evacuating a school bus during an emergency.
         (b)  A school district shall conduct the school bus emergency
  evacuation training at least twice each school year, with one
  training session occurring in the fall and one training session
  occurring in the spring. A portion of the training session must
  occur on a school bus and the training session must last for at
  least one hour.
         (c)  The school bus emergency evacuation training must be
  based on the recommendations of the most recent edition of the
  National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, as
  adopted by the National Congress on School Transportation, or a
  similar school transportation safety manual.
         (d)  Not later than the 30th day after the date that a school
  district completes a training session, the district shall provide
  the Department of Public Safety with a record certifying the
  district's completion of the training.
         (e)  The Department of Public Safety may adopt rules
  necessary to implement this section.
         SECTION 8.  The change in law made by this Act by adding
  Section 34.0021, Education Code, applies beginning with the
  2007-2008 school year.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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