119 HR 7428 IH: Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards Act of 2026 U.S. House of Representatives 2026-02-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I119th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 7428IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFebruary 9, 2026Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and InfrastructureA BILLTo require the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning seat belts on school buses, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards Act of 2026 or the SECURES Act of 2026.

2.

Proposed rulemaking

(a)

Requirements

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking on new Federal standards for school bus seat belt requirements on all new school buses, regardless of gross vehicle weight rating.(b)

Considerations

In the proposed rulemaking, the Secretary shall consider—(1)the safety benefits of a lap/shoulder belt system (also known as a Type 2 seat belt assembly);(2)the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board that Lap/shoulder belts provide the highest level of protection for school bus passengers and that Properly worn lap belts provide some benefit, while Properly worn lap/shoulder belts provide greater benefit by reducing injuries related to upper body flailing;(3)the 2015 announcement by the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Mark Rosekind, stating that the agency believes that every child on every school bus should have a three-point seat belt;(4)any innovative approaches to seat belt detection, seat belt reminder systems, and seat belt violation alert systems that could be incorporated into school bus designs; and(5)existing experience from the States that have already required school buses to be equipped with seat belts.