Bill Text: IA SF58 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act allowing certain vans and pickups to be used to transport pupils to activity events or from school to home in emergency situations. (See SF 197.)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-06 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 197. S.J. 249. [SF58 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-SF58-Introduced.html
Senate File 58 - Introduced SENATE FILE 58 BY SHIPLEY A BILL FOR An Act allowing certain vans and pickups to be used to 1 transport pupils to activity events or from school to home 2 in emergency situations. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh
S.F. 58 Section 1. Section 321.1, subsection 69, paragraph d, Code 1 2019, is amended to read as follows: 2 d. Designed New or used motor vehicles designed to carry 3 not more than nine persons as passengers , including the driver, 4 or used passenger vans designed to carry not more than twelve 5 persons as passengers, including the driver , either school 6 owned or privately owned, which are used to transport pupils 7 to activity events in which the pupils are participants or 8 used to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or 9 other emergency situations. The vehicles operated under the 10 provisions of this paragraph shall be operated by employees of 11 the school district who are specifically approved by the local 12 superintendent of schools for the assignment. 13 Sec. 2. Section 321.373, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended 14 to read as follows: 15 3. a. The rules prescribed for school buses shall include 16 special rules for passenger automobiles, and other vehicles 17 designed to carry eight or fewer pupils, when used as school 18 buses. 19 b. The rules shall allow pickups designed to carry nine 20 passengers or less, including the driver, and weighing ten 21 thousand pounds or less, to be used as school buses if the 22 pickup does not carry more passengers than there are safety 23 belts or safety harnesses in the pickup as installed by the 24 manufacturer and if the pickup is not operated while any 25 passenger is present in the bed of the pickup. The operator 26 of the pickup shall comply with the qualification, licensing, 27 and instruction requirements set forth in sections 321.375 and 28 321.376, other than the requirement to obtain a commercial 29 driver’s license. However, the rules shall allow the board of 30 directors of a school district to prohibit the use of pickups 31 as school buses by the school district. 32 c. The rules shall allow used passenger vans designed to 33 carry twelve or fewer passengers, including the driver, and 34 weighing ten thousand pounds or less, to be used as school 35 -1- LSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh 1/ 5
S.F. 58 buses if the van does not carry more passengers than there are 1 safety belts or safety harnesses in the van as installed by 2 the manufacturer. The operator of the van shall comply with 3 the qualification, licensing, and instruction requirements set 4 forth in sections 321.375 and 321.376. 5 d. A pickup or passenger van operated pursuant to rules 6 described in paragraph “b” or “c” is subject to the limitations 7 set forth in section 321.1, subsection 69, paragraph “d” . 8 EXPLANATION 9 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 10 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 11 CURRENT IOWA LAW. Under current law, motor vehicles 12 designed to carry not more than nine persons as passengers, 13 either school owned or privately owned, are excluded from the 14 definition of “school bus” under Code section 321.1, thereby 15 excluding such vehicles from the duties and requirements 16 relating to school buses set forth in Code chapter 321 17 (motor vehicles and law of the road). To qualify under the 18 exclusion, a vehicle must be used to transport pupils to 19 activity events in which the pupils are participants or used 20 to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other 21 emergency situations, and must be operated by an employee of 22 the school district who is specifically approved by the local 23 superintendent of schools for the assignment. 24 Administrative rules of the department of education regulate 25 type III vehicles used as school buses. Under 281 IAC 44.2(5), 26 type III vehicles are not regular school buses but are used 27 to transport students in a school-related context and may 28 be marked as a school bus. A type III vehicle is a van or 29 passenger car, including a minivan, sport utility vehicle, or 30 station wagon. The difference between a family automobile and 31 an equivalent type III vehicle is not the vehicle itself, but 32 rather its use, as type III vehicles are used by schools for 33 purposes of student transportation. To qualify as a type III 34 vehicle, the vehicle must carry a maximum of nine or fewer 35 -2- LSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh 2/ 5
S.F. 58 people, including the driver, and weigh 10,000 pounds or less. 1 Under 281 IAC 44.5(1), vehicles classified as pickups are not 2 allowed to be used for student transportation. All type III 3 vehicles are prohibited from carrying more passengers than 4 there are seat belts as installed by the manufacturer (281 5 IAC 44.5(1)(d)). In addition, trailer hitches are allowed on 6 type III vehicles in accordance with the manufacturer’s rated 7 towing capacity, but students are not allowed to be transported 8 in the vehicle when the vehicle is being used to tow (281 IAC 9 44.5(2)(j)). 10 Any person who operates or allows the operation of any 11 vehicle as a school bus which does not comply with the 12 requirements provided by law or by the rules and regulations of 13 the department of education, or for which there is not a valid 14 temporary certificate for operation, is guilty of a simple 15 misdemeanor (Code section 285.14). The department of education 16 is required to review all transportation arrangements when 17 deemed necessary, to disapprove any arrangements that are not 18 in conformity with the law and established standards, and to 19 require the arrangements to be altered or changed so that they 20 do conform with the law and established standards (Code section 21 285.8). 22 CURRENT FEDERAL LAW. 49 U.S.C. §30112(a)(1) prohibits the 23 manufacture, sale, or import of a motor vehicle that does not 24 comply with applicable motor vehicle safety standards if the 25 vehicle was manufactured on or after the date an applicable 26 safety standard took effect. The provision does not apply 27 after the first purchase of the motor vehicle in good faith 28 other than for resale. Therefore, the provision prohibits the 29 sale of a new motor vehicle for use as a school bus if the motor 30 vehicle does not meet applicable federal safety standards for 31 school buses. Under federal law, a school bus is a passenger 32 motor vehicle designed to carry a driver and more than 10 33 passengers that is used significantly to transport students to 34 or from school or an event related to school. 35 -3- LSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh 3/ 5
S.F. 58 PICKUPS. This bill requires the administrative rules to 1 allow pickups designed to carry nine passengers or less, 2 including the driver, and weighing 10,000 pounds or less, to 3 be used as school buses. Under Code section 321.1, a “pickup” 4 is any motor vehicle designed to carry merchandise or freight 5 of any kind, not to exceed 2,000 pounds. The bill prohibits 6 the pickup from carrying more passengers than there are safety 7 belts or safety harnesses in the pickup as installed by the 8 manufacturer, and from operating while any passenger is present 9 in the bed of the pickup. The operator of the pickup must 10 comply with the qualification, licensing, and instruction 11 requirements set forth in Code sections 321.375 (school bus 12 drivers, qualifications, and grounds for suspension) and 13 321.376 (license, authorization, and instruction requirement), 14 other than the requirement to obtain a commercial driver’s 15 license. However, the bill provides that the rules must allow 16 the board of directors of a school district to prohibit the use 17 of pickups as school buses by the school district. 18 PASSENGER VANS. The bill excludes from the definition 19 of “school bus” under Code section 321.1 used passenger vans 20 designed to carry not more than 12 persons as passengers, 21 including the driver. The bill requires the administrative 22 rules to allow used passenger vans designed to carry 12 or 23 fewer passengers, including the driver, and weighing 10,000 24 pounds or less, to be used as school buses if the van does 25 not carry more passengers than there are safety belts or 26 safety harnesses in the van as installed by the manufacturer. 27 The operator of the van must comply with the qualification, 28 licensing, and instruction requirements set forth in Code 29 sections 321.375 and 321.376. 30 LIMITATION. The bill specifies that pickups and passenger 31 vans operated as school buses under the administrative rules 32 described in the bill are subject to the limitations set forth 33 under the provision of Code section 321.1 that excludes such 34 vehicles from the definition of “school bus”, namely that 35 -4- LSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh 4/ 5
S.F. 58 such vehicles must be used to transport pupils to activity 1 events in which the pupils are participants or used to 2 transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other 3 emergency situations, and must be operated by an employee of 4 the school district who is specifically approved by the local 5 superintendent of schools for the assignment. 6 -5- LSB 1673XS (7) 88 ns/rh 5/ 5
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