NY State Senate Bill 2023-S725

Senate Bill S725

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires passengers on school buses equipped with seat belts to wear such belts when the bus is in motion

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to transportation
Jan 06, 2023	referred to transportation

2023-S725 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4771
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1229-c & 1229-d, V & T L; amd §§3623, 3635-a & 3813, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A7837
2011-2012: A3094, A9011
2013-2014: A3845
2015-2016: A2310
2017-2018: S4743, A4390
2019-2020: S2433, A3827
2021-2022: S1403, A1823

2023-S725 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that all passengers of school buses must wear seat belts; exempts school bus attendants and others acting in a supervisory capacity from such requirement; requires that drivers announce "Everybody fasten your seat belts" before a school bus is placed in motion; empowers the commissioner of education to enforce such provisions

2023-S725 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S725

SPONSOR: SERRANO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the education law, in
relation to requiring the usage of seat safety belts on school buses

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide that vans or suburban automobiles used as school buses cannot
be operated unless pupils are wearing seat belts.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Subdivision 1 of section 3623 of the education law by
adding a new paragraph d to read that no van or suburban motor vehicle
shall he operated in the transportation of pupils to or from school
unless all passengers in such vehicle are properly utilizing seat belts.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, there are car-like vans / suburban automobiles that are used
as "mini school buses". As a result of the vehicle's usage as a school
bus, the New York State seat belt law does not apply. However, if this
same vehicle were not being used for the purpose of pupil transporta-
tion, it would fall within the realm Of New York state law.  These vehi-
cles do not have the compartmentalization safety feature that regular
school buses possess, which is a main tool in protecting' students
during an accident, and is part; of the reasoning behind the state's
lack of a mandatory seat. belt. policy on school buses, students who are
traveling in these "mini school buses" during their trip to and from
school should not be afforded less protection simply because the van is
being utilized as a "school bus", and current law fails to address the
issue.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S.1403 - Referred to Transportation

2019-2020: S.2433 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION

2017-2018: S.4743 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of September next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law. Provided, that any rules and
regulations necessary for the timely implementation of this act on its
effective date shall be promulgated before such a date;

2023-S725 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    725
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the  education  law,  in
   relation to requiring the usage of seat 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. 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
 SEAT  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;
   §  2. 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02807-01-3

 S. 725                              2
 
 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.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF
 THIS  SUBDIVISION,  THE  TERM  "PASSENGER"  SHALL NOT INCLUDE SCHOOL BUS
 ATTENDANTS, AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION  TWELVE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-
 NINE-D  OF  THIS  ARTICLE,  OR  ANY OTHER PERSON ACTING IN A SUPERVISORY
 CAPACITY. FURTHERMORE, IN ANY ACTION FOR PERSONAL INJURIES BY A  PASSEN-
 GER ON A SCHOOL BUS, THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION THIR-
 TY-EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THE EDUCATION LAW SHALL APPLY.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 3623 of the education law, as amended by
 chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  NO PERSON SHALL OPERATE A SCHOOL BUS EQUIPPED WITH SEAT SAFETY
 BELTS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-THREE
 OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW OR PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED
 THIRTY-FIVE-A OF THIS ARTICLE UNLESS SUCH PERSON IS REASONABLY SURE THAT
 ALL PASSENGERS ARE RESTRAINED BY A SEAT SAFETY BELT. FOR THE PURPOSES OF
 THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "PASSENGER"  SHALL  NOT  INCLUDE  SCHOOL  BUS
 ATTENDANTS,  AS  THAT  TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY-
 NINE-D OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, OR ANY OTHER PERSON ACTING  IN  A
 SUPERVISORY  CAPACITY.  FURTHERMORE, 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 THIS CHAPTER SHALL APPLY.
   B.  THE  DRIVER  OF  A SCHOOL BUS SHALL BE REQUIRED TO ANNOUNCE TO THE
 PASSENGERS OF SUCH BUS: "EVERYBODY FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT",  BEFORE  SUCH
 BUS IS PLACED IN MOTION.
   C.  NO PERSON SHALL OPERATE A SCHOOL BUS WHILE ANY PASSENGER IS STAND-
 ING, EITHER IN THE AISLE OR AT THEIR SEAT.
   D. The commissioner of transportation in consultation with the commis-
 sioner shall adopt, promulgate and enforce rules, standards and specifi-
 cations regulating and  controlling  the  efficiency  and  equipment  of
 school  buses  used  to  transport pupils, with particular regard to the
 safety and convenience of such pupils and the suitability and adaptabil-
 ity of such school buses to the requirements of the school district.  No
 school bus shall be purchased by a  school  district  or  used  for  the
 transportation  of  pupils  unless and until it has been approved by the
 commissioner of transportation as complying with  the  rules,  standards
 and specifications relating thereto.
   [b.]  E.  No  bus  manufactured  after January first, nineteen hundred
 seventy-four shall be used to transport pupils under any contract with a
 school district or board of cooperative educational services  unless  it
 has  been  similarly  approved  by  the  commissioner of transportation,
 except that no such approval shall be required for buses used to  trans-
 port  pupils  and  also used to serve the general public under a certif-
 icate of public convenience for the operation of  a  bus  line,  granted
 pursuant  to  the  transportation  law  or  for  buses used to transport
 pupils, teachers and other persons acting in a supervisory  capacity  to
 and  from  school activities and which bus does not receive or discharge
 passengers on or along the public highways on regularly scheduled routes
 and is operating under a permit as  a  contract  carrier  of  passengers
 granted pursuant to the transportation law or by the interstate commerce
 commission.    School  buses  manufactured  or  assembled prior to April
 S. 725                              3
 
 first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven  may  not  be  used  to  transport
 pupils,  teachers  and other persons acting in a supervisory capacity to
 and from school activities.
   [c.]  F.  The  commissioner shall PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF PARA-
 GRAPH A OF THIS SUBDIVISION AND SHALL  establish  and  provide  for  the
 enforcement of rules and regulations requiring instruction on the use of
 seat  safety  belts  [as  specified in subdivision five of section three
 hundred eighty-three of the vehicle and traffic law and section  thirty-
 six  hundred  thirty-five-a of this chapter], INSTRUCTION ON THE DANGERS
 OF STANDING WHILE THE BUS IS IN MOTION,  drills  in  safe  boarding  and
 exiting  procedures  and  emergency drills to be conducted on all school
 buses and shall  emphasize  specific  hazards  encountered  by  children
 during  snow,  ice,  rain  and  other inclement weather. All such drills
 shall include instruction in the importance of orderly  conduct  by  all
 school  bus passengers.   A minimum of [three] FOUR such drills shall be
 had on each school bus during the school year, the first to be conducted
 during the first seven days of session of the fall term.
   § 4. Section 3635-a of the education law, as added by chapter  747  of
 the laws of 1986, 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] INSTALLATION of seat safety belts on such school buses, in
 accordance with regulations and standards established by the commission-
 er under subdivision one of section  thirty-six  hundred  [thirty-eight]
 TWENTY-THREE of this [chapter] ARTICLE.
   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]; AND (b) when such  instal-
 lation  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.
   4-A.  IF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAS DETERMINED TO
 REQUIRE  THE  INSTALLATION  OF  SEAT SAFETY BELTS, THE USE OF SUCH BELTS
 SHALL BE MANDATORY PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH A OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION
 THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE OF THIS ARTICLE AND PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION ELEVEN-A OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE-C OF THE VEHICLE AND
 TRAFFIC LAW.
   5. 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. 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 trustees
 be held liable for failure to provide seat safety belts pursuant to this
 S. 725                              4
 
 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 proceeding, civil
 or criminal, the good faith of any such person shall be presumed.
   7.  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 effec-
 tive date of this section.
   §  5.  Subdivision 1 of section 1229-d of the vehicle and traffic law,
 as added by chapter 675 of the laws of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (1) (A) "School bus attendant" shall mean a person, INCLUDING A SCHOOL
 AIDE OR MONITOR, employed or authorized by a school district OR EMPLOYED
 BY  A  MOTOR  CARRIER  UNDER  CONTRACT TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT to ride on a
 school bus as defined in paragraph (a) of  subdivision  one  of  section
 five hundred nine-a of this chapter for the purpose of maintaining order
 or rendering assistance to pupils with special needs.
   (B) ANY PUPIL WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WHO IS UNABLE TO UTILIZE A SEAT SAFE-
 TY  BELT, AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ELEVEN-A OF SECTION TWELVE
 HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE-C OF THIS ARTICLE AND  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  SECTION
 THIRTY-SIX  HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE OF THE EDUCATION LAW, SHALL BE ASSIGNED
 A SCHOOL BUS ATTENDANT.
   § 6. Subdivision 4 of section 3813 of the education law, as  added  by
 chapter 747 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  In any action for personal injuries by a passenger on a school bus
 against a school district, school bus operator  under  contract  with  a
 school  district,  or  any  agent  or employee of a district or operator
 (including, but not limited to, bus drivers, matrons,  teachers  serving
 as chaperones and volunteers) no such person shall be held liable solely
 because  the  injured  party  was not wearing a seat safety belt OR HELD
 LIABLE SOLELY BECAUSE THE INJURED PARTY WAS INJURED  AS  THE  RESULT  OF
 WEARING  A  SEAT  SAFETY BELT; provided, however, that nothing contained
 herein shall be construed to grant immunity from liability  for  failure
 to:
   (a)  maintain  in  operating  order any equipment required by statute,
 rule or regulation;
   (b) comply with applicable statutes, rules or regulations.
   § 7. This act shall  take  effect  on  the  first  of  September  next
 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective imme-
 diately  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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