House committee hears bill to create school bus safety grant fund, strengthen bus-zone penalties

Representative Willis, chair of the House Transportation Committee, and Representative Cecil Thomas presented sponsor testimony on House Bill 3, the School Bus Safety Act, during the committee’s March 11 hearing. The bill would create a school bus safety grant fund, authorize a package of recommended safety features, expand public education about passing stopped buses and upgrade enforcement tools to support prosecutions of motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses.

The proposal would establish an initial $25,000,000 grant allocation to help districts pay for selected safety features, Representative Cecil Thomas said, and allow districts to choose the features that best fit their fleet and needs. “Allowing local school districts the flexibility to choose which features best suit their needs ensures that every district can implement the most effective solution for their unique circumstances,” Thomas said.

Why it matters: committee members were told the bill builds on a governor-appointed School Bus Safety Task Force report and is intended to bolster protections in the immediate zones around stopped school buses — protections that sponsors said are currently less robust than those in posted…