HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 480        FILED ON: 1/9/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

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 seat belts on school buses.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 480        FILED ON: 1/9/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 2295 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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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 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following clauses:

(19) as of September 1, 2027, 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 always fastened about each passenger during vehicle operation.

(20) as of September 1, 2027, 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. 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 lap-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, 2026, unless such school bus is equipped with a lap-shoulder belt system”.

SECTION 5. Section 4 of chapter 175E, as so appearing, 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, 2025, 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.