NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9361

Senate Bill S9361

Signed By Governor

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring seat belts on charter buses for persons age 8 through 16

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status Via A8557 - Signed by Governor

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

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Oct 23, 2024	signed chap.434 delivered to governor
Jun 06, 2024	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1865 substituted for s9361
Jun 06, 2024	substituted by a8557 ordered to third reading cal.1865 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 14, 2024	referred to transportation

Votes

- Jun 6, 2024 - Floor Vote
  A8557
  
  54
  
  Aye
  
  7
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 6, 2024
      
      aye (54)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Borrello
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brouk
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Chu
      
      Cleare
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Felder
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gonzalez
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Krueger
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martinez
      
      Martins
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Murray
      
      Myrie
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rhoads
      
      Rivera
      
      Rolison
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Scarcella-Spanton
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Webb
      
      Weber
      
      Weik
      
      nay (7)
      
      Ashby
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Lanza
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      excused (1)
      
      Walczyk
  Jun 6, 2024 - Rules Committee Vote
  S9361
  
  15
  
  Aye
  
  1
  
  Nay
  
  4
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 6, 2024
      
      aye (15)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Krueger
      
      Liu
      
      Mayer
      
      Parker
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (1)
      
      Ortt
      
      aye wr (4)
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Lanza
      
      O'Mara

2023-S9361 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8557
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1229-c, V & T L

2023-S9361 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires that seat belts be available and used on charter buses for persons age 8 through 16.

2023-S9361 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9361

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to seat belts
on charter buses

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill requires charter bus passengers aged 8 years or
older to wear seat belts and provides that police officers may only
issue tickets for a violation by a person aged 8 to 15 years to such
person's parent or guardian if the violation occurred in such parent or
guardian's presence and the parent or guardian is at least 18 years old.

Section two of the bill defines "charter bus" as a bus manufactured or
assembled on or after November 28, 2016, transporting passengers for
compensation in a chartered party, and defines "chartered party."

Section three provides that violations are subject to a maximum $50 fine
and establishes an affirmative defense that the charter bus was not
equipped with seat belts, or the seat belts were not clearly visible,

accessible, or maintained in good working order. This section also
provides a technical amendment to remove charter buses from a provision
of law that exempts buses other than school buses from the seat belt
Law.

Section four provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

On September 21, 2023 a charter bus carrying students and staff from
Farmingdale High School crashed while on route to a band camp.  Trag-
ically, two adult chaperones on the trip were fatally injured.  This and
other recent charter bus crashes show the importance of wearing seatbe-
lts in motor vehicles. Federal law requires that charter buses have
these belts installed but does not require that they be used. The matter
has been left to the states. California requires passengers in charter
buses to use seatbelts.

This legislation would require charter bus passengers 8 years of age or
older to use seat belts provided. It is modeled on other laws recently
passed in NY that expanded seatbelt use in stretch limousines, taxis and
livery vehicles. Seatbelts save lives and this legislation will prevent
further loss of life in crashes involving charter buses.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.8610

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2023-S9361 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9361
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 14, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- 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, in relation to  seat  belts
   on charter buses
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 3-d to read as follows:
   3-D. (A) NO PERSON SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER SHALL BE A  PASSENGER
 IN  A  CHARTER  BUS  UNLESS  SUCH  PERSON IS RESTRAINED BY A SAFETY BELT
 APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   (B) NO PERSON EIGHT YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER BUT UNDER AGE SIXTEEN  SHALL
 BE  A  PASSENGER  IN A CHARTER BUS UNLESS SUCH PERSON IS RESTRAINED BY A
 SAFETY BELT APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER. A POLICE  OFFICER  SHALL  ONLY
 ISSUE A SUMMONS FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH TO THE PARENT OR GUAR-
 DIAN  OF SUCH PERSON IF THE VIOLATION BY SUCH PERSON OCCURS IN THE PRES-
 ENCE OF SUCH PERSON'S PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND WHERE SUCH PARENT OR GUARD-
 IAN IS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. SUCH SUMMONS SHALL ONLY BE ISSUED
 TO SUCH PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND SHALL NOT BE ISSUED TO THE  PERSON  EIGHT
 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER BUT UNDER AGE SIXTEEN.
   §  2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 4 of section 1229-c of the
 vehicle and traffic law, as separately amended by chapters 232  and  509
 of  the laws of 2004, are amended and two new paragraphs (d) and (e) are
 added to read as follows:
   (b) "child restraint system" shall mean any device, used  in  conjunc-
 tion with safety belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle to restrain,
 seat,  or position children and which meets the applicable Federal Motor
 Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213; [and]
   (c) "appropriate child restraint system" shall mean a child  restraint
 system  for which the occupant meets the occupant size and weight recom-
 mendations of the manufacturer of such system[.];
   (D) "CHARTER BUS" SHALL MEAN A BUS MANUFACTURED  OR  ASSEMBLED  ON  OR
 AFTER  NOVEMBER TWENTY-EIGHTH, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN TRANSPORTING PASSEN-
 GERS FOR COMPENSATION IN A CHARTERED PARTY; AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13986-01-4
 S. 9361                             2
 
   (E) "CHARTERED PARTY" SHALL MEAN A GROUP OF PERSONS WHO, PURSUANT TO A
 COMMON PURPOSE AND UNDER A SINGLE CONTRACT AND AT A FIXED  CHARGE,  HAVE
 ACQUIRED  EXCLUSIVE  USE  OF  A  BUS  TO TRAVEL TOGETHER AS A GROUP TO A
 SPECIFIC DESTINATION OR FOR A PARTICULAR ITINERARY EITHER AGREED UPON IN
 ADVANCE OR MODIFIED AFTER HAVING LEFT THE PLACE OF ORIGIN BY SUCH GROUP.
   § 3. Subdivisions 5 and 9 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic
 law,  subdivision  5  as  amended  by  chapter 38   and subdivision 9 as
 amended by chapter 8 of the  laws  of  2020,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5.  Any  person  who  violates  the  provisions  of subdivision three,
 three-c, THREE-D or ten-a of this section shall be punished by  a  civil
 fine  of  up to fifty dollars. Any person who violates the provisions of
 subdivision one, two, eleven  or  thirteen  of  this  section  shall  be
 punished  by a civil fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than one
 hundred dollars. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging  a  violation
 of  paragraph (b) of subdivision one or paragraph (c) of subdivision two
 of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that  the  passenger
 subject to the requirements of such paragraphs was restrained by a safe-
 ty  belt  and  measures more than four feet nine inches in height and/or
 weighs more than one hundred pounds. In any  prosecution  or  proceeding
 alleging  a  violation  of paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subdivision
 three-c of this section, it shall be an affirmative  defense  that  such
 taxi  or  livery was in violation of subdivision four-b of section three
 hundred eighty-three of this chapter.  IN ANY PROSECUTION OR  PROCEEDING
 ALLEGING A VIOLATION OF SUBDIVISION THREE-D OF THIS SECTION, IT SHALL BE
 AN  AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE THAT SUCH CHARTER BUS WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH SEAT
 BELTS, OR SUCH SEAT BELTS WERE NOT CLEARLY VISIBLE, ACCESSIBLE, OR MAIN-
 TAINED IN GOOD WORKING ORDER.
   9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
 (A) the provisions of this section shall not apply to buses  other  than
 school  buses,  EXCEPT  AS  OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION THREE-D OF
 THIS SECTION AND EXCEPT THAT THE PROVISIONS OF  SUBDIVISION  THREE-A  OF
 THIS  SECTION  SHALL BE APPLICABLE TO ANY PERSON OPERATING A CHARTER BUS
 AND TO CHARTER BUS PASSENGERS AGE EIGHT OR OLDER, and (B) the provisions
 of subdivisions one, two, three and three-a of this  section  shall  not
 apply  to  taxis  and liveries except that the provisions of subdivision
 three-a of this section shall be applicable to any  person  operating  a
 taxi or livery and to taxi and livery passengers age eight or older.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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