[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3590 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3590

   To provide grants for use by rural local educational agencies in 
                      purchasing new school buses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 25 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

   Mr. Reid introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide grants for use by rural local educational agencies in 
                      purchasing new school buses.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bus Utility and Safety in School 
Transportation Opportunity and Purchasing Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) school transportation issues remain a concern for 
        parents, State and local educational agencies, lawmakers, the 
        National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National 
        Transportation Safety Board, and the Environmental Protection 
        Agency;
            (2) many rural local educational agencies are operating 
        outdated, unsafe school buses that are failing inspection, 
        resulting in a depletion of the school bus fleets of the local 
        educational agencies;
            (3) many rural local educational agencies are unable to 
        afford newer and safer buses;
            (4) the rising cost of fuel has further strained the 
        budgets of local educational agencies across the country; and
            (5) millions of children face potential future health 
        problems because of exposure to noxious fumes emitted from 
        older school buses.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish within the 
Department of Transportation a Federal cost-sharing program to assist 
rural local educational agencies with older, unsafe school bus fleets 
in purchasing newer, safer school buses.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Rural local educational agency.--The term ``rural local 
        educational agency'' means a local educational agency, as 
        defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), with respect to which--
                    (A) each county in which a school served by the 
                local educational agency is located has a total 
                population density of fewer than 10 persons per square 
                mile;
                    (B) all schools served by the local educational 
                agency are designated with a school locale code of 7 or 
                8, as determined by the Secretary of Education; or
                    (C) all schools served by the local educational 
                agency have been designated, by official action taken 
                by the legislature of the State in which the local 
                educational agency is located, as rural schools for 
                purposes relating to the provision of educational 
                services to students in the State.
            (2) School bus.--The term ``school bus'' means a vehicle 
        the primary purpose of which is to transport students to and 
        from school or school activities.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available under section 5311(j) 
of title 49, United States Code, for a fiscal year, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall provide grants, on 
a competitive basis, to rural local educational agencies to pay the 
Federal share of the cost of purchasing new school buses.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Each rural local educational agency that 
        seeks to receive a grant under this Act shall submit to the 
        Secretary for approval an application at such time, in such 
        manner, and accompanied by such information (in addition to 
        information required under paragraph (2)) as the Secretary may 
        require.
            (2) Contents.--Each application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include--
                    (A) documentation that, of the total number of 
                school buses operated by the rural local educational 
                agency, a majority of these buses entered service prior 
                to 1998;
                    (B) documentation of the number of miles that each 
                school bus operated by the rural local educational 
                agency traveled in the most recent 9-month academic 
                year;
                    (C) documentation that the rural local educational 
                agency is operating with a strained fleet of school 
                buses;
                    (D) a certification from the rural local 
                educational agency that--
                            (i) authorizes the application of the rural 
                        local educational agency for a grant under this 
                        Act; and
                            (ii) describes the dedication of the rural 
                        local educational agency to school bus 
                        replacement programs and school transportation 
                        needs (including the number of new school buses 
                        needed by the rural local educational agency); 
                        and
                    (E) an assurance that the rural local educational 
                agency or State educational agency will pay the non-
                Federal share of the cost of the purchase of new school 
                buses under this Act from non-Federal sources.
    (c) Priority.--
            (1) In general.--In providing grants under this Act, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to rural local educational 
        agencies that, as determined by the Secretary--
                    (A) are transporting students in a bus manufactured 
                before 1977;
                    (B) have a strained fleet of school buses; or
                    (C) serve a school that is required, under section 
                1116(b)(9) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(9)), to provide 
                transportation to students to enable the students to 
                transfer to another public school served by the rural 
                local educational agency.
    (d) Payments; Federal Share.--
            (1) Payments.--The Secretary shall pay to each rural local 
        educational agency having an application approved under this 
        section the Federal share described in paragraph (2) of the 
        cost of purchasing such number of new school buses as is 
        specified in the approved application.
            (2) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of 
        purchasing a new school bus under this Act shall be 75 percent.
    (e) Formula Grants Under SAFETEA-LU.--Section 5311 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
    ``(j) Rural School Transportation.--The Secretary may expand not to 
exceed 5 percent of amounts made available under this section to carry 
out the Bus Utility and Safety in School Transportation Opportunity and 
Purchasing Act of 2008.''.
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