Transportation Committee
Appropriations Committee
AN ACT PROVIDING A PARTIAL REFUND OF THE SALES TAX IMPOSED ON THE SALE OF SCHOOL BUSES EQUIPPED BY THE MANUFACTURER WITH SEAT SAFETY BELTS
SUMMARY: This act requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer a program to help pay for school buses equipped with lap/shoulder (3-point) seat belts. DMV must do this by raising certain fees by $50 and using the increase to offset a portion of the sales tax paid on school buses in participating school districts. School districts may apply to take part in the program from July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2017.
The act requires the participating school districts to (1) provide written notice to the parents or legal guardians of each student who uses a school bus of the availability and proper use of the seat belts and (2) teach students the proper use of the seat belts, including how to fasten and unfasten them.
It exempts (1) participating school districts; (2) the school bus companies with which they contract; and (3) school bus operators, from liability for injuries caused solely by a student's use, misuse, or failure to use a seat belt installed under the program.
It requires the Transportation and Education committees to hold a joint hearing in the 2018 legislative session on the program's effectiveness and level of participation and to recommend to the legislature, by March 1, 2018, whether to continue the program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2010
SEAT BELT PROGRAM
From July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2017, school districts may apply to DMV, on a form DMV provides, to take part in the program. The application must include a proposed agreement between the district and the school bus company that transports the district's students. The proposed agreement must (1) require that the carrier provide the school district with between one and 50 school buses, each equipped with 3-point seat belts installed at the time of manufacture and (2) include a request by the carrier for funding in the amount of half the sales tax paid on the seat-belt equipped school buses it purchases on or after July 1, 2011. The agreement is contingent on DMV's approval and funding from a school bus seat belt account the act creates.
SCHOOL BUS SEAT BELT ACCOUNT
The act creates a school bus seat belt account as a separate non-lapsing account in the General Fund. Funding for the account comes from increasing, from $125 to $175, the fee to restore a suspended or revoked (1) driver's license or right to operate a motor vehicle, (2) motor vehicle registration, or (3) right to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
BACKGROUND
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations require seat belts on school buses whose fully loaded weight is less than 10,000 pounds (small school buses) but do not require them on buses weighing 10,000 pounds or more (large school buses) (49 CFR 571. 222). NHTSA leaves the decision on whether to require seat belts on large school buses to individual states.
In 2009, NHTSA required small school buses to have 3-point, rather than lap belts, and devised standards for 3-point belts voluntarily installed in large school buses. These requirements apply to buses manufactured on and after October 21, 2011.
OLR Tracking: PF: JR: DF