Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1676 By Senator Sachs 34-00906-16 20161676__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to child transportation safety; 3 providing a short title; amending s. 316.6135, F.S.; 4 requiring vehicles used to transport children by 5 public entities or by private organizations for hire 6 to be equipped with a certain alarm system by a 7 specified date; requiring the Department of Highway 8 Safety and Motor Vehicles to adopt rules and maintain 9 a list of alarm manufacturers and approved alarm 10 systems; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; requiring vehicles 11 used by child care facilities and large family child 12 care homes to be equipped with a certain alarm system 13 by a specified date; requiring the Department of 14 Children and Families to adopt rules and maintain a 15 list of alarm manufacturers and approved alarm 16 systems; amending s. 1006.22, F.S.; requiring school 17 buses to be equipped with a certain alarm system by a 18 specified date; requiring the State Board of Education 19 to adopt rules and maintain a list of alarm 20 manufacturers and approved alarm systems; providing an 21 effective date. 22 23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24 25 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Haile Brockington 26 Act.” 27 Section 2. Subsection (8) is added to section 316.6135, 28 Florida Statutes, to read: 29 316.6135 Leaving children unattended or unsupervised in 30 motor vehicles; penalty; authority of law enforcement officer.— 31 (8) By January 1, 2017, each vehicle used to transport 32 children by public entities or by private organizations for 33 hire, including schools, camps, and churches, must be equipped 34 with an alarm system approved by the department which prompts 35 the driver to inspect the interior and the exterior of the 36 vehicle for the presence of children before the driver exits or 37 departs from the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. The 38 department shall adopt rules to administer this subsection and 39 shall maintain a list of alarm manufacturers and alarm systems 40 required by this subsection that are approved to be installed in 41 such vehicles. 42 Section 3. Subsection (10) of section 402.305, Florida 43 Statutes, is amended to read: 44 402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities.— 45 (10) TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.— 46 (a) Minimum standards shall include requirements for child 47 restraints or seat belts in vehicles used by child care 48 facilities and large family child care homes to transport 49 children, requirements for annual inspections of the vehicles, 50 limitations on the number of children in the vehicles, and 51 accountability for children being transported. 52 (b)1. By January 1, 2017, vehicles used by child care 53 facilities and large family child care homes must be equipped 54 with an alarm system approved by the department which prompts 55 the driver to inspect the interior and the exterior of the 56 vehicle for the presence of children before the driver exits or 57 departs from the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. 58 2. The department shall adopt rules to administer this 59 paragraph and shall maintain a list of alarm manufacturers and 60 alarm systems required by this paragraph that are approved to be 61 installed in such vehicles. 62 Section 4. Subsection (10) of section 1006.22, Florida 63 Statutes, is amended to read: 64 1006.22 Safety and health of students being transported. 65 Maximum regard for safety and adequate protection of health are 66 primary requirements that must be observed by district school 67 boards in routing buses, appointing drivers, and providing and 68 operating equipment, in accordance with all requirements of law 69 and rules of the State Board of Education in providing 70 transportation pursuant to s. 1006.21: 71 (10) Each district school board shall designate and adopt a 72 specific plan for adequate examination, maintenance, and repair 73 of transportation equipment. Examination of the mechanical and 74 safety condition of each school bus must be made as required 75 pursuant to rule of the State Board of Education. The State 76 Board of Education shall base the rule on student safety 77 considerations. 78 (a) By January 1, 2017, each school bus must be equipped 79 with an alarm system approved by the State Board of Education 80 which prompts the driver to inspect the interior and the 81 exterior of the bus for the presence of children before the 82 driver exits or departs from the immediate vicinity of the bus. 83 (b) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 84 administer paragraph (a) and shall maintain a list of alarm 85 manufacturers and alarm systems required by paragraph (a) that 86 are approved to be installed in school buses. 87 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.