BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 693

By: Garcia

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that life-saving equipment such as seat belts should be available to more Texas children who ride buses to and from school each day. S.B. 693 seeks to address this issue by requiring three-point seat belts on certain new school buses purchased by a public school district.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 693 amends the Transportation Code to include a multifunction school activity bus and a school-chartered bus among the buses that when operated by or contracted for use by a public school district for the transportation of schoolchildren are required to be equipped with a
three-point seat belt for each passenger, including the operator. The bill removes provisions limiting this seat belt requirement to each bus purchased by a district on or after September 1, 2010, or each school-chartered bus contracted for use by a district on or after September 1, 2011, for the transportation of schoolchildren and exempts from the requirement a bus purchased by a district that is a model year 2017 or earlier and a bus purchased by a district that is a model year 2018 or later if the board of trustees for the district determines that the district's budget does not permit the district to purchase a bus that is equipped with the required three-point seat belts and votes to approve that determination in a public meeting. The bill repeals a provision requiring a district to comply with the seat belt requirement only to the extent that the legislature has appropriated money for the purpose of reimbursing school districts for expenses incurred in that compliance.

S.B. 693 repeals Section 547.701(f), Transportation Code.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.