Senate Bill sb0614e1

    SB 614                                         First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to bus transportation; amending

  3         s. 316.70, F.S.; requiring the driving records

  4         of nonpublic sector bus drivers to be checked

  5         for suspended or revoked licenses; amending s.

  6         316.6145, F.S.; clarifying applicability of

  7         requirements that school buses purchased after

  8         a specified date be equipped with safety belts

  9         or other restraints; providing that private

10         school students may ride on public school buses

11         and public school students may ride on private

12         school buses, subject to specified conditions;

13         providing an effective date.

14  

15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

16  

17         Section 1.  Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (1) of

18  section 316.70, Florida Statutes, to read:

19         316.70  Nonpublic sector buses; safety rules.--

20         (1)  The Department of Transportation shall establish

21  and revise standards to assure the safe operation of nonpublic

22  sector buses, as defined in s. 316.003(78), which standards

23  shall be those contained in 49 C.F.R. parts 382, 385, and

24  390-397 and which shall be directed towards assuring that:

25         (d)  The driving records of drivers of nonpublic sector

26  buses are checked by their employers at least once each year

27  to ascertain whether the driver has a suspended or revoked

28  driver's license.

29         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

30  316.6145, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

31  


                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 614                                         First Engrossed



 1         316.6145  School buses; safety belts or other restraint

 2  systems required.--

 3         (1)(a)  Each school bus that is purchased new after

 4  December 31, 2000, and used to transport students in grades

 5  pre-K through 12 must be equipped with safety belts or with

 6  any other restraint system approved by the Federal Government

 7  in a number sufficient to allow each student who is being

 8  transported to use a separate safety belt or restraint system.

 9  These safety belts must meet the standards required under s.

10  316.614. A school bus that was purchased prior to December 31,

11  2000, is not required to be equipped with safety belts.

12         Section 3.  Private school students may be transported

13  on public school buses and public school students may be

14  transported on private school buses when there is mutual

15  agreement between the local school board and the applicable

16  private school. Any agreement for private school students to

17  be transported on public school buses must be in accordance

18  with sections 768.28(9)(a) and 316.6145, Florida Statutes. Any

19  agreement for public school students to be transported on

20  private school buses must be contingent on the private school

21  bus driver's having adequate liability insurance through his

22  or her employer.

23         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  


                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.