HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2307        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2034

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Antonio F. D. Cabral

_________________

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 seat belts on school buses.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Antonio F. D. Cabral

13th Bristol

1/10/2019

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

2/1/2019

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

1/25/2019

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

1/29/2019

Paul R. Feeney

Bristol and Norfolk

1/31/2019

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

13th Middlesex

1/27/2019

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

2/1/2019

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

1/24/2019

Christopher Hendricks

11th Bristol

1/29/2019

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

2/1/2019

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

1/30/2019

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

1/29/2019

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

1/31/2019

Maria Duaime Robinson

6th Middlesex

1/29/2019

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

1/25/2019

José F. Tosado

9th Hampden

1/31/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2307        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2034

By Mr. Cabral of New Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2034) of Antonio F. D. Cabral and others for legislation to require seat belts on school buses.  Public Safety and Homeland Security.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act to require seat belts on 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 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following clauses:-

“(19) as of September 1, 2023, every school bus transporting students to or from a public, charter 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, 2025, 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 inserting after the word “practices”, in line 120, the following words:—

“, 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 inserting after the word “seated”, in line 6, the following words:-

“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 inserting after the word “bus”, in line 12, the following words:-

“, prior to September 1, 2023, unless such school bus is equipped with a lap-shoulder belt system”.

SECTION 5.Section 4 of chapter 175E, of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

“(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, 2021, 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.”