Bill Text: IL SB0943 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning school bus driver permits.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-08-15 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [SB0943 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SB0943-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 SB0943 Introduced 2/6/2009, by Sen. John J. Cullerton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
625 ILCS 5/6-106.1 from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning school bus driver permits.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 6-106.1 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/6-106.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1)
Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
(a) The The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus
driver permit to those applicants who have met all the
requirements of the application and screening process under
this Section to insure the welfare and safety of children who
are transported on school buses throughout the State of
Illinois. Applicants shall obtain the proper application
required by the Secretary of State from their prospective or
current employer and submit the completed application to the
prospective or current employer along with the necessary
fingerprint submission as required by the Department of State
Police to conduct fingerprint based criminal background checks
on current and future information available in the state system
and current information available through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's system. Applicants who have completed the
fingerprinting requirements shall not be subjected to the
fingerprinting process when applying for subsequent permits or

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submitting proof of successful completion of the annual
refresher course. Individuals who on the effective date of this
Act possess a valid school bus driver permit that has been
previously issued by the appropriate Regional School
Superintendent are not subject to the fingerprinting
provisions of this Section as long as the permit remains valid
and does not lapse. The applicant shall be required to pay all
related application and fingerprinting fees as established by
rule including, but not limited to, the amounts established by
the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to process fingerprint based criminal background
investigations. All fees paid for fingerprint processing
services under this Section shall be deposited into the State
Police Services Fund for the cost incurred in processing the
fingerprint based criminal background investigations. All
other fees paid under this Section shall be deposited into the
Road Fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of the
Secretary of State in administering this Section. All
applicants must:
1. be 21 years of age or older;
2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
license issued by the Secretary of State;
3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not been
revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years immediately
prior to the date of application, or have not had his or
her commercial motor vehicle driving privileges

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disqualified within the 3 years immediately prior to the
date of application;
4. successfully pass a written test, administered by
the Secretary of State, on school bus operation, school bus
safety, and special traffic laws relating to school buses
and submit to a review of the applicant's driving habits by
the Secretary of State at the time the written test is
given;
5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care in
the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
promulgated by the Secretary of State;
6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
including tests for drug use for each applicant not subject
to such testing pursuant to federal law, conducted by a
licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse who has a
written collaborative agreement with a collaborating
physician which authorizes him or her to perform medical
examinations, or a physician assistant who has been
delegated the performance of medical examinations by his or
her supervising physician within 90 days of the date of
application according to standards promulgated by the
Secretary of State;
7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she has
not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
material fact in any application for permit;

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8. have completed an initial classroom course,
including first aid procedures, in school bus driver safety
as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and after
satisfactory completion of said initial course an annual
refresher course; such courses and the agency or
organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
permit until such course is completed;
9. not have been convicted of 2 or more serious traffic
offenses, as defined by rule, within one year prior to the
date of application that may endanger the life or safety of
any of the driver's passengers within the duration of the
permit period;
10. not have been convicted of reckless driving,
driving while intoxicated, or reckless homicide resulting
from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of the
date of application;
11. not have been convicted of committing or attempting
to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i)
those offenses defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1,
9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6,
10-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16,
11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1,
11-21, 11-22, 12-3.1, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-4.4,
12-4.5, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-11,

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12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-16.2, 12-21.5,
12-21.6, 12-33, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1,
20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-3.3, 31A-1, 31A-1.1, and
33A-2, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b), clause
(1), of Section 12-4 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii)
those offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except
those offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of
Section 4, and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis
Control Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois
Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in
the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act;
(v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state
or against the laws of the United States, which if
committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as
one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses
defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children
Act and (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of the
Liquor Control Act of 1934;
12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver in
motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted of
offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
highway;

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13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a motor
vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death of any
person; and
14. not have, within the last 5 years, been adjudged to
be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability
or disease.
(b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a period
specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by rule. It
shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection (a) of this
Section.
(c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the holder's
driver's license number, legal name, residence address, zip
code, social security number and date of birth, a brief
description of the holder and a space for signature. The
Secretary of State may require a suitable photograph of the
holder.
(d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver
candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and submitting
the applicant's fingerprint cards to the Department of State
Police that are required for the criminal background
investigations. The employer shall certify in writing to the
Secretary of State that all pre-employment conditions have been
successfully completed including the successful completion of
an Illinois specific criminal background investigation through

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the Department of State Police and the submission of necessary
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
criminal history information available through the Federal
Bureau of Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
submitting the school bus driver permit application.
(e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon receiving
certification from the employer that all pre-employment
conditions have been successfully completed, and upon
successful completion of all training and examination
requirements for the classification of the vehicle to be
operated, the Secretary of State shall provisionally issue a
School Bus Driver Permit. The permit shall remain in a
provisional status pending the completion of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation's criminal background investigation based
upon fingerprinting specimens submitted to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation by the Department of State Police. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall report the findings directly to
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall remove the
bus driver permit from provisional status upon the applicant's
successful completion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
criminal background investigation.
(f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is convicted
in another state of an offense that would make him or her
ineligible for a permit under subsection (a) of this Section.

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The written notification shall be made within 5 days of the
entry of the conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for a
first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
subsequent violation.
(g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
(1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit of an applicant whose criminal background
investigation discloses that he or she is not in compliance
with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
(2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
this Section.
(3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit if the permit holder's restricted commercial
or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn or
otherwise invalidated.
(4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school bus
driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant who
fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
under federal law.
(5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend a
school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon

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receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
The Secretary of State shall notify the State
Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1) has
failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no longer
eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the related
cancellation of the applicant's provisional school bus driver
permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect pending the
outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118 of this Code.
The scope of the hearing shall be limited to the issuance
criteria contained in subsection (a) of this Section. A
petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the individual
feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver permit. The
permit holder's employer shall notify in writing to the
Secretary of State that the employer has certified the removal
of the offending school bus driver from service prior to the
start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An employing
school board that fails to remove the offending school bus
driver from service is subject to the penalties defined in
Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus contractor who
violates a provision of this Section is subject to the
penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
All valid school bus driver permits issued under this

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Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective until
their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
(Source: P.A. 93-895, eff. 1-1-05; 94-556, eff. 9-11-05.)