Stop for School Buses Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2218 To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct research on and imple- ment certain safety measures and programs to prevent illegal passing of school buses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 10, 2019 Mrs. WALORSKI (for herself and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct re- search on and implement certain safety measures and programs to prevent illegal passing of school buses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop for School Buses 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2218 IH SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SAFETY PROGRAMS. 1 (a) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 4 shall— 5 (A) prepare a compilation of illegal passing 6 laws in all States, including levels of enforce- 7 ment and penalties and enforcement issues with 8 such laws and the impact of such laws on illegal 9 passing of school buses in each State; 10 (B) review existing State laws that may in- 11 hibit effective school bus loading zone counter- 12 measures, which may include laws requiring 13 camera visibility of a driver’s face for enforce- 14 ment action, laws that may reduce stop arm 15 camera effectiveness, the need for an officer to 16 witness the event for enforcement, and the lack 17 of primary enforcement for texting and driving; 18 (C) evaluate methods used by States to re- 19 view, document, and report to law enforcement 20 school bus stop arm violations; and 21 (D) following the completion of the com- 22 pilation, issue recommendations on best prac- 23 tices on the most-effective approaches to ad- 24 dress illegal passing of school buses. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2218 IH (2) PUBLICATION.—The compilation and rec- 1 ommendations shall be made publicly available on 2 the website of the Department. 3 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 6 shall create and execute a public safety messaging 7 campaign including public safety media messages, 8 posters, digital, and other media messages for dis- 9 tribution to States, divisions of motor vehicles, 10 schools, and other public outlets to highlight the im- 11 portance of the illegal passing school buses, and 12 should include educating students and the public on 13 safe loading and unloading of schools buses. 14 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con- 15 sult with public and private school bus industry rep- 16 resentatives and States in developing the appropriate 17 messages. 18 (3) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall periodically 19 update the materials used in the campaign. 20 (c) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 23 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 24 technologies, including cameras, audible warning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2218 IH systems, enhanced lighting, and other technological 1 solutions to enhance school bus safety. 2 (2) CONTENT.—The review— 3 (A) shall include an evaluation of the costs 4 of new equipment and the potential impact on 5 overall school bus ridership; 6 (B) shall include an evaluation of advanced 7 technologies surrounding loading zone safety; 8 (C) shall include an evaluation of school 9 bus lighting systems, to ensure clear commu- 10 nication to surrounding drivers on their appro- 11 priate action; 12 (D) may include other technological solu- 13 tions that enhance school bus safety; and 14 (E) may include a pilot program to test 15 the technologies in school bus service. 16 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con- 17 sult with manufacturers of school bus vehicles, man- 18 ufacturers of various technologies, and school bus in- 19 dustry representatives in conducting the review. 20 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 21 the findings of the review publicly available on the 22 website of the Department. 23 (d) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2218 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 1 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 2 shall— 3 (A) review driver education materials 4 across all States to determine whether and how 5 illegal passing of school buses is addressed in 6 driver education materials, manuals, non-CDL 7 testing, and road tests; and 8 (B) make recommendations on how States 9 can improve education about illegal passing of 10 school buses, particularly with new drivers. 11 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con- 12 sult with school bus industry representatives, States, 13 motor vehicle administrators, and other appropriate 14 motor vehicle experts in the preparation of the re- 15 view. 16 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 17 the findings of the review publicly available on the 18 website of the Department. 19 (e) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 22 shall research the connections between illegal pass- 23 ing of school buses and other safety issues, includ- 24 ing, but not limited to, distracted driving, morning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2218 IH darkness, illumination and reach of vehicle head- 1 lights, speed limits, and school bus stop locations in 2 rural areas and create a report containing the find- 3 ings. 4 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 5 the findings of the report publicly available on the 6 website of the Department. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 10 means the Department of Transportation. 11 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Transportation. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS