HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2617        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2101

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Antonio F. D. Cabral

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to require seatbelts in school buses.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2617        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2101

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act to require seatbelts in school buses.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.   Section 7B of chapter 90 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2012 official edition, is hereby amended by adding after the word “year” in line 129, the following:— : (19) as of September 1, 2019, every school bus transporting students to or from a public or vocational school shall be equipped with a lap-shoulder belt for each permanent seating accommodation designed and installed in compliance with United States motor vehicle D.O.T. safety standards, which seat belt shall be fastened about each passenger at all times during vehicle operation; (20) as of September 1, 2021, every school bus transporting students to or from a private or parochial school shall be equipped with a lap-shoulder belt for each permanent seating accommodation designed and installed in compliance with United States motor vehicle D.O.T. safety standards, which seat belt shall be fastened about each passenger at all times during vehicle operation.

SECTION 2. Said section 7B of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding after the word “practices” in line 113, the following:— which shall include instruction in the use of lap-shoulder belts.

SECTION 3. Section 7L of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding after the word “seated” in line 5, the following:— and, if traveling in a bus required by this chapter to have lab-shoulder belts, wearing a lap-shoulder belt which is properly adjusted and fastened according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

SECTION 4. Section 7AA of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding, in line 11 after the word “bus” the words:— , prior to September 1, 2019, unless such school bus is equipped with a lap-shoulder belt system.

SECTION 5. Section 4 of chapter 175E, of the general laws, as appearing in the 2012 official edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section at the end thereof:—(f) For motor vehicle insurance rates for school buses, the commissioner shall develop and promulgate a schedule of appropriate reductions in premium charges to account for the decreased risk of injury associated with the installation of a lap-shoulder belt system approved by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in any such bus so equipped. The schedule shall be promulgated prior to September 1, 2017, provided that an owner of any school bus so equipped prior to the promulgation of said schedule may apply to the commissioner and receive an appropriate reduction in the premium charge.

SECTION 6. No claim for damages shall arise from the failure of a school bus operator to ensure that a passenger of a school bus was wearing the restraint system prescribed by Sections 7B, 7L and 7AA of Chapter 90 of the general laws.