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Panel approves bill clarifying who must provide school bus insurance
Summary
The Education Administration subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 534, which replaces ambiguous statutory language about ‘‘owners’’ and ‘‘operators’’ with ‘‘contractors’’ to clarify insurance responsibility for school buses and prevent drivers from being required to buy separate liability policies.
Representative Rudder told the Education Administration subcommittee on a motion passed Tuesday that House Bill 534 replaces the statutory terms “owners” and “operators” with “contractors” so that individual bus drivers are not made personally responsible for securing insurance.
The change, Rudder said, clarifies that school systems and their contractors — not individual drivers who do not directly contract with LEAs — must provide and show proof of liability coverage. “This clarifies that individual bus drivers and owners who don't directly contract with school systems are not personally responsible for securing insurance,” Rudder said.
In explaining the urgency, Rudder gave a local example: in Franklin County, 74 buses are covered under a single annual policy that costs about $37,000. She said, under one possible interpretation of the current language, drivers might need separate policies, which could push the combined cost to roughly $925,000 and add about $14,000 per driver.
Representative Glenn asked whether drivers had been paying for insurance before this bill; Rudder replied she could not speak to the original statute’s implementation but said the change removes confusing language that could be read to require drivers to carry individual liability coverage.
The committee recorded a roll call and the clerk announced six ayes. The subcommittee action was recorded as “moves on to full education.” The measure requires no amendment noted in the hearing and sponsor Rudder said the bill had been reviewed by school boards and superintendents.
Gaps and next steps: the sponsor described the fiscal example and said school boards reviewed the bill; the committee did not produce a fiscal note on the record at this hearing.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 534 — motion carried; clerk announced 6 ayes; outcome: advanced to full Education Committee.
