[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1254 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1254

  To require the Secretary of Transportation to review and report on 
certain laws, safety measures, and technologies relating to the illegal 
            passing of school buses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 2019

 Mr. Young (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Transportation to review and report on 
certain laws, safety measures, and technologies relating to the illegal 
            passing of school buses, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Stop for School Buses Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Transportation.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 3. REVIEW OF LAWS, SAFETY MEASURES, AND TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Review of Illegal Passing Laws.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a report 
        that--
                    (A) identifies and describes all illegal passing 
                laws in each State relating to school buses, 
                including--
                            (i) the level of enforcement of those laws;
                            (ii) the penalties associated with those 
                        laws;
                            (iii) any issues relating to the 
                        enforcement of those laws; and
                            (iv) the effectiveness of those laws;
                    (B) reviews existing State laws that may inhibit 
                the effectiveness of safety countermeasures in school 
                bus loading zones, such as--
                            (i) laws that require the face of a driver 
                        to be visible in an image captured by a camera 
                        if enforcement action is to be taken based on 
                        that image;
                            (ii) laws that may reduce stop-arm camera 
                        effectiveness;
                            (iii) the need for a law enforcement 
                        officer to witness an event for enforcement 
                        action to be taken; and
                            (iv) the lack of primary enforcement for 
                        texting and driving;
                    (C) evaluates the methods used by each State to 
                review, document, and report to law enforcement school 
                bus stop-arm violations; and
                    (D) recommends best practices relating to the most 
                effective approaches to address the illegal passing of 
                school buses.
            (2) Publication.--The report under paragraph (1) shall be 
        made publicly available on the website of the Department.
    (b) Public Safety Messaging Campaign.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and 
        implement a public safety messaging campaign that uses public 
        safety media messages, posters, digital media messages, and 
        other media messages distributed to States, State departments 
        of motor vehicles, schools, and other public outlets--
                    (A) to highlight the importance of addressing the 
                illegal passing of school buses; and
                    (B) to educate students and the public on the safe 
                loading and unloading of schools buses.
            (2) Consultation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall consult with--
                    (A) representatives of the school bus industry from 
                the public and private sectors; and
                    (B) States.
            (3) Updates.--The Secretary shall periodically update the 
        materials used in the campaign under paragraph (1).
    (c) Review of Technologies.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall review and evaluate 
        the effectiveness of various technologies for enhancing school 
        bus safety, including technologies such as--
                    (A) cameras;
                    (B) audible warning systems; and
                    (C) enhanced lighting.
            (2) Requirements.--The review under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) shall include--
                            (i) an evaluation of--
                                    (I) the costs of acquiring and 
                                operating new equipment; and
                                    (II) the potential impact of that 
                                equipment on overall school bus 
                                ridership;
                            (ii) an evaluation of the impact of 
                        advanced technologies on school bus loading 
                        zone safety; and
                            (iii) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 
                        school bus lighting systems at clearly 
                        communicating to surrounding drivers the 
                        appropriate actions those drivers should take; 
                        and
                    (B) may include--
                            (i) an evaluation of any technological 
                        solutions that may enhance school bus safety 
                        outside of the school bus loading zone; and
                            (ii) a pilot program to test any 
                        technologies in school bus service.
            (3) Consultation.--In carrying out the review under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with--
                    (A) manufacturers of school buses;
                    (B) manufacturers of various technologies that may 
                enhance school bus safety; and
                    (C) school bus industry representatives.
            (4) Publication.--The Secretary shall make the findings of 
        the review under paragraph (1) publicly available on the 
        website of the Department.
    (d) Review of Driver Education Materials.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) review driver education materials in all States 
                to determine whether and how illegal passing of school 
                buses is addressed in those driver education materials, 
                including--
                            (i) manuals;
                            (ii) testing for noncommercial driver's 
                        licenses; and
                            (iii) road tests; and
                    (B) make recommendations on how States can improve 
                education about the illegal passing of school buses, 
                particularly for new drivers.
            (2) Consultation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall consult with--
                    (A) school bus industry representatives;
                    (B) States;
                    (C) the chief executive officer of the department 
                of transportation of each State; and
                    (D) other appropriate motor vehicle experts.
            (3) Publication.--The Secretary shall make the findings of 
        the review under paragraph (1) publicly available on the 
        website of the Department.
    (e) Review of Other Safety Issues.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall research and prepare 
        a report on the connections between the illegal passing of 
        school buses and other safety issues, including issues such 
        as--
                    (A) distracted driving;
                    (B) morning darkness;
                    (C) illumination and reach of vehicle headlights;
                    (D) speed limits; and
                    (E) the locations of school bus stops in rural 
                areas.
            (2) Publication.--The Secretary shall make the report under 
        paragraph (1) publicly available on the website of the 
        Department.
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