Bill Text: IA SF2324 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act allowing certain vans and pickups to be used as school buses. (Formerly SSB 3186.)
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-22 - Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 671. [SF2324 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-SF2324-Introduced.html
Senate File 2324 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3186) A BILL FOR 1 An Act allowing pickups to be used as school buses. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 5527SV (1) 87 ns/rh PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 321.373, subsection 3, Code 2018, is 1 2 amended to read as follows: 1 3 3. The rules prescribed for school buses shall include 1 4 special rules for passenger automobiles, and other vehicles 1 5 designed to carry eight or fewer pupils, when used as school 1 6 buses. The rules shall allow pickups designed to carry nine 1 7 passengers or less, including the driver, and weighing ten 1 8 thousand pounds or less, to be used as school buses. 1 9 EXPLANATION 1 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 1 11 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 1 12 Currently, rules of the department of education permit 1 13 type III vehicles to be used as school buses. Under 281 IAC 1 14 44.2(5), type III vehicles are not regular school buses but 1 15 are used to transport students in a school=related context and 1 16 may be marked as a school bus. A type III vehicle is a van 1 17 or passenger car, including a minivan, sport utility vehicle, 1 18 or station wagon. The difference between a family automobile 1 19 and an equivalent type III vehicle is not the vehicle itself, 1 20 but rather its use, as type III vehicles are used by schools 1 21 for purposes of student transportation. To qualify as a type 1 22 III vehicle, the vehicle must carry a maximum of nine or fewer 1 23 people, including the driver, and weigh 10,000 pounds or less. 1 24 Under 281 IAC 44.5(1), vehicles classified as pickups are not 1 25 allowed to be used for student transportation. 1 26 This bill requires such rules to allow pickups designed 1 27 to carry nine passengers or less, including the driver, and 1 28 weighing ten thousand pounds or less, to be used as school 1 29 buses. Under Code section 321.1, a pickup is any motor vehicle 1 30 designed to carry merchandise or freight of any kind, not to 1 31 exceed 2,000 pounds. 1 32 Under current law, any person who operates or allows 1 33 the operation of any vehicle as a school bus which does 1 34 not comply with the requirements provided by law or by the 1 35 rules and regulations of the department of education, or 2 1 for which there is not a valid temporary certificate for 2 2 operation, is guilty of a simple misdemeanor (Code section 2 3 285.14). The department of education is required to review 2 4 all transportation arrangements when deemed necessary, to 2 5 disapprove any arrangements that are not in conformity with the 2 6 law and established standards, and to require the arrangements 2 7 to be altered or changed so that they do conform with the law 2 8 and established standards (Code section 285.8). 2 9 Under current law, all type III vehicles are prohibited from 2 10 carrying more passengers than there are seat belts as installed 2 11 by the manufacturer (281 IAC 44.5(1)(d)). In addition, trailer 2 12 hitches are allowed on type III vehicles in accordance with 2 13 the manufacturer's rated towing capacity, but students are not 2 14 allowed to be transported in the vehicle when the vehicle is 2 15 being used to tow (281 IAC 44.5(2)(j)). School bus drivers 2 16 must be at least 18 years of age on or before August 1 preceding 2 17 the opening of the school year for which a school bus driver's 2 18 authorization is required (281 IAC 43.14). LSB 5527SV (1) 87 ns/rh