[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1605 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1605

 Prohibiting the manufacture, sale, delivery, or importation of school 
                   buses that do not have seat belts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 1997

 Mr. Kleczka introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 Prohibiting the manufacture, sale, delivery, or importation of school 
                   buses that do not have seat belts.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION.

    No person shall manufacture, sell, deliver, or import any school 
bus, constructed after the effective date of this Act, for use by a 
person described in section 2 to provide transportation service, unless 
such school bus is equipped with a seat belt for each passenger riding 
in such school bus.

SEC. 2. PERSONS TO WHICH PROHIBITION APPLIES.

    The prohibition set forth in section 1 shall apply to--
            (1) any school bus, as such term is defined in section 
        4221(d)(7)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
            (2) any Federal, State, or local government entity, school 
        district, or other public or private entity providing 
        transportation to passengers by school bus.

SEC. 3. CIVIL PENALTIES; SECRETARY'S AUTHORITY TO COMPROMISE.

    (a) Amount of Penalties.--Whoever violates any provision of this 
Act, or any regulation issued thereunder, shall be subject to a civil 
penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each such violation. A violation with 
respect to each school bus shall constitute a separate violation, 
except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $800,000 for any 
related series of violations.
    (b) Compromise of Penalties.--Any such civil penalty may be 
compromised by the Secretary of Transportation. In determining the 
amount of such penalty, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the 
appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business of the 
person charged and the gravity of the violation shall be considered.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of its enactment.
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