S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4413
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Transportation
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law and the education law, in
   relation to implementing combination lap safety and  shoulder  harness
   seat  safety  belts  and requiring students use safety belts on school
   buses

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  5  of section 383 of the vehicle and traffic
 law, as added by chapter 747 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read  as
 follows:
   5. (a) Passenger seat safety belts for school buses. Every school bus,
 as  defined  in  section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, manufac-
 tured for use in this state on and after July first,  [nineteen  hundred
 eighty-seven]  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-TWO,  shall be designed so that all
 passenger seats on such vehicle are equipped with COMBINATION LAP SAFETY
 AND SHOULDER HARNESS seat safety belts and increased seat  back  padding
 on  passenger  seats  of  a  type  and  specification as approved by the
 commissioner of transportation through the adoption of rules  and  regu-
 lations. Such rules and regulations shall provide that when any contact-
 able  surface of the school bus, as specified in the Federal Motor Vehi-
 cle Safety Standard, 49  CFR  Section  571.222,  is  impacted  from  any
 direction  at  twenty-two  feet  per  second by the head form, the axial
 acceleration at the center of gravity of the head  form  shall  be  such
 that the head form impact requirement shall not exceed eight hundred.
   (b)  Passenger COMBINATION LAP SAFETY AND SHOULDER HARNESS seat safety
 belts for existing school buses. [Any] EVERY school bus, as  defined  in
 section  one  hundred  forty-two of this chapter, which is scheduled for
 retrofitting pursuant to action by a board  of  education  or  board  of
 trustees under section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-a of the education
 law  NOT  EQUIPPED WITH COMBINATION LAP SAFETY AND SHOULDER HARNESS SEAT
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01669-01-1

 A. 4413                             2
 
 SAFETY BELTS shall be retrofitted so that all passenger  seats  on  such
 vehicles  are  equipped with COMBINATION LAP SAFETY AND SHOULDER HARNESS
 seat safety belts and additional padding of a type and specification  as
 approved  by  the commissioner of transportation through the adoption of
 rules and regulations. Such rules and  regulations  shall  provide  that
 when  any  contactable  surface  of  the  school bus as specified in the
 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, 49CFR Section 571.222 is impacted
 from any direction at twenty-two feet per second by the head  form,  the
 axial  acceleration  at  the center of gravity of the head form shall be
 such that the head  form  impact  requirement  shall  not  exceed  eight
 hundred.  Furthermore,  the  commissioner  shall  have the power through
 rules and regulations to exempt certain design school buses from  retro-
 fitting.  In  granting  such exemptions, the commissioner shall consider
 safety factors, structural integrity of the school buses and  any  other
 items  deemed necessary to preserve the safety and welfare of the school
 bus passengers. Provided further,  however,  that  the  commissioner  of
 transportation  shall not authorize retrofitting of any school bus manu-
 factured prior to April  first,  [nineteen  hundred  seventy-seven]  TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO.
   §  2.  Section 3635-a of the education law, as added by chapter 747 of
 the laws of 1986 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 474 of the laws
 of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   § 3635-a. Safety belt usage. [1. A board  of  education  or  board  of
 trustees  may,  in  its  discretion,  following a public hearing for the
 purpose of determining whether a resolution shall  be  adopted,  provide
 for  the  use  of  seat safety belts on such school buses, in accordance
 with regulations and standards established  by  the  commissioner  under
 subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight of this chap-
 ter.
   2.  Such  public  hearing,  conducted upon reasonable notice, shall be
 held to consider: (a) whether the district  shall  install  seat  safety
 belts  on  buses  purchased and/or contracted for prior to the effective
 date of this section and require their use; (b) when  such  installation
 shall  be  provided,  and  (c) whether use of seat safety belts shall be
 required on all school buses within the district  so  equipped  after  a
 date to be determined by the board of education or board of trustees.
   3.  Such  hearings  shall  consider  the  effect  of seat safety belts
 installation on the total number of students that can be transported  on
 such buses.
   4. Within twenty days after the public hearing, the board of education
 or  board of trustees shall, by resolution, determine whether to require
 installation and use of seat safety belts on some or all school buses.]
   1. ALL STUDENTS SHALL USE SAFETY  BELTS  WHILE  BEING  TRANSPORTED  ON
 SCHOOL  BUSES,  IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS ESTABLISHED
 BY THE COMMISSIONER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS SHALL
 BE MADE WHERE A PUPIL WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IS UNABLE TO UTILIZE  A  SAFETY
 BELT.
   [5.]  2.  This section shall apply only to vehicles owned or leased by
 school districts and nonpublic schools, and to vehicles used to  perform
 contracts  with  such  school  districts  and  nonpublic schools for the
 purpose of transporting school children for hire.
   [6.] 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to  impose  a  duty
 upon  boards  of  education or boards of trustees to provide seat safety
 belts on school buses purchased or contracted for prior to the effective
 date of this section, nor shall any board of education or board of trus-
 tees be held liable for failure to provide seat safety belts pursuant to

 A. 4413                             3
 
 this section. A school board member or trustee shall have immunity  from
 any  civil  or  criminal  liability  that might otherwise be incurred or
 imposed as a result of the provisions of this section provided that such
 person  shall  have acted in good faith. For the purpose of any proceed-
 ing, civil or criminal, the good faith  of  any  such  person  shall  be
 presumed.
   [7.]  4.  The  provisions  of  this  section shall not apply to school
 districts which are using safety belts on school buses or have installed
 or have contracted for the installation of seat safety  belts  prior  to
 the effective date of this section.
   §  3.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 448  of  the  laws  of  2015,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   (a)  "motor  vehicle"  shall  include  all  motor  vehicles  which are
 required by section three hundred eighty-three of this chapter or  regu-
 lation or would be required if such motor vehicle were registered in New
 York  state to be equipped [by a safety belt but shall not include] WITH
 SAFETY BELTS, INCLUDING those vehicles which are used as  school  buses,
 as such term is defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter
 [and];  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  THE  TERM  "MOTOR  VEHICLE" SHALL NOT
 INCLUDE those vehicles which are authorized emergency vehicles, as  such
 term  is  defined  in section one hundred one of this chapter, provided,
 however, that for purposes of this section, "motor vehicle"  shall  also
 include fire vehicles owned and/or operated by a fire company as defined
 by  subdivision  two of section one hundred of the general municipal law
 and ambulances owned and/or operated by a voluntary ambulance service as
 defined by subdivision three of  section  one  hundred  of  the  general
 municipal law;
   §  4. Subdivision 11 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
 as added by chapter 653 of the laws of 1989 and as renumbered by chapter
 104 of the laws of 1991, is amended and a new subdivision 11-a is  added
 to read as follows:
   11.  [Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  subdivision  four  of this
 section, no] NO person shall operate a school bus unless SUCH PERSON  IS
 REASONABLY SURE THAT all passengers under the age of four are restrained
 in  a  specially  designed  detachable  or removable seat as required by
 subdivision one of this section, or another restraining device  approved
 by the commissioner.
   11-A.  NO  PERSON SHALL OPERATE A SCHOOL BUS EQUIPPED WITH SEAT SAFETY
 BELTS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-THREE
 OF THIS CHAPTER OR PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED  THIRTY-FIVE-A
 OF  THE  EDUCATION  LAW  UNLESS  SUCH PERSON IS REASONABLY SURE THAT ALL
 PASSENGERS ARE RESTRAINED BY A SEAT SAFETY BELT, PROVIDED THAT THE  TERM
 "PASSENGER"  SHALL NOT INCLUDE SCHOOL BUS ATTENDANTS OR ANY OTHER PERSON
 ACTING IN A SUPERVISORY CAPACITY FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION.  FURTHER-
 MORE,  IN  ANY  ACTION  FOR PERSONAL INJURIES BY A PASSENGER ON A SCHOOL
 BUS, THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION THIRTY-EIGHT  HUNDRED
 THIRTEEN OF THE EDUCATION LAW SHALL APPLY.
   §  5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. Effective immediately,
 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
 sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.