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House passes tweak to 'driving by minors' allowing students to drive home from school activities; floor rejects extending curfew to 1 a.m.
Summary
The House approved Senate Bill 118 to allow minors to drive home from school activities using school parking lots as pick‑up/drop‑off points; an amendment to change the cutoff time from midnight to 1 a.m. (to cover late events such as New Year's Eve) failed after floor debate on safety and intent.
Representative Manlove introduced Senate Bill 118, describing a practical problem for rural students returning from school events who previously could be restricted by the minor‑driving statute when driving from a school parking lot to home. He said the amendment simply allows travel from school‑sponsored activities to a student’s home from the school parking lot.
Representative Hoke reserved the right to offer an amendment to change time cutoffs, citing religious activities and special events that can run past midnight, and proposed changing references to 12:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on two lines in the bill. Representative Monroe and Representative Uhr opposed extending the hour, arguing it would broaden the bill beyond the author’s intent and potentially increase risk for inexperienced drivers.
After floor discussion and summations, the motion to amend the bill to move the cutoff to 1 a.m. failed on a voice vote. The House then called the previous question, closed debate, and voted to pass S.B. 118 as introduced. The presiding officer announced the final tally and the bill advanced to the Senate for the president's signature.
