S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  8614

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            December 16, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Transportation

AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law and the education law, in
  relation to requiring three-point seat safety belts on school buses

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  5  of section 383 of the vehicle and traffic
law, as added by chapter 747 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read  as
follows:
  5. (a) Passenger seat safety belts for school buses. Every school bus,
as  defined  in  section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, manufac-
tured for use in this state on and after July first,  [nineteen  hundred
eighty-seven]  TWO  THOUSAND  SEVENTEEN,  shall  be designed so that all
passenger seats on such vehicle are equipped with THREE-POINT seat safe-
ty belts and increased seat back padding on passenger seats  of  a  type
and  specification  as  approved  by  the commissioner of transportation
through the adoption of rules and  regulations.  Such  rules  and  regu-
lations  shall  provide  that when any contactable surface of the school
bus, as specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard,  49  CFR
Section  571.222,  is impacted from any direction at twenty-two feet per
second by the head form, the axial acceleration at the center of gravity
of the head form shall be such that the  head  form  impact  requirement
shall not exceed eight hundred.
  (b) Passenger THREE-POINT seat safety belts for existing school buses.
[Any]  EVERY  school bus, as defined in section one hundred forty-two of
this chapter, [which is scheduled for retrofitting pursuant to action by
a board of education or  board  of  trustees  under  section  thirty-six
hundred   thirty-five-a   of   the  education  law]  NOT  EQUIPPED  WITH
THREE-POINT SEAT SAFETY BELTS shall be retrofitted so that all passenger
seats on such vehicles are equipped with THREE-POINT seat  safety  belts
and  additional  padding  of a type and specification as approved by the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13214-01-5
              

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commissioner of transportation through the adoption of rules  and  regu-
lations. Such rules and regulations shall provide that when any contact-
able surface of the school bus as specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety  Standard,  49 CFR Section 571.222 is impacted from any direction
at twenty-two feet per second by the head form, the  axial  acceleration
at  the  center  of gravity of the head form shall be such that the head
form impact requirement shall not exceed eight hundred. Furthermore, the
commissioner shall have the  power  through  rules  and  regulations  to
exempt  certain  design school buses from retrofitting. In granting such
exemptions, the commissioner shall consider safety  factors,  structural
integrity  of  the  school buses and any other items deemed necessary to
preserve the safety and welfare of the school bus  passengers.  Provided
further,  however,  that  the  commissioner  of transportation shall not
authorize retrofitting of any school bus  manufactured  prior  to  April
first, [nineteen hundred seventy-seven] TWO THOUSAND FOUR.
  S  2.  Section 3635-a of the education law, as added by chapter 747 of
the laws of 1986 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 474 of the laws
of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
  S 3635-a. Safety belt usage.   1. A board of  education  or  board  of
trustees  may,  in  its  discretion,  following a public hearing for the
purpose of determining whether a resolution shall  be  adopted,  provide
for  the  use  of THREE-POINT seat safety belts on such school buses, in
accordance with regulations and standards established by the commission-
er [under subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight  of
this chapter].
  2.  Such  public  hearing,  conducted upon reasonable notice, shall be
held to consider: (a) whether the  district  shall  install  THREE-POINT
seat safety belts on buses purchased and/or contracted for prior to [the
effective  date  of this section] JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN and
require their use; (b) when such installation shall be provided, and (c)
whether use of THREE-POINT seat safety belts shall be  required  on  all
school  buses  within the district so equipped after a date to be deter-
mined by the board of education or board of trustees.
  3. Such hearings shall consider the effect of THREE-POINT seat  safety
belts  installation  on  the total number of students that can be trans-
ported on such buses.
  4. Within twenty days after the public hearing, the board of education
or board of trustees shall, by resolution, determine whether to  require
installation  and  use  of  THREE-POINT seat safety belts on some or all
school buses.
  5. This section shall apply only to vehicles owned or leased by school
districts and  nonpublic  schools,  and  to  vehicles  used  to  perform
contracts  with  such  school  districts  and  nonpublic schools for the
purpose of transporting school children for hire.
  6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose  a  duty  upon
boards  of  education  or boards of trustees to provide THREE-POINT seat
safety belts on school buses purchased or contracted for prior  to  [the
effective  date of this section] JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, nor
shall any board of education or board of trustees  be  held  liable  for
failure  to  provide  THREE-POINT  seat  safety  belts  pursuant to this
section. A school board member or trustee shall have immunity  from  any
civil  or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed
as a result of the provisions of this section provided that such  person
shall have acted in good faith. For the purpose of any proceeding, civil
or criminal, the good faith of any such person shall be presumed.

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  7.  The provisions of this section shall not apply to school districts
which are using THREE-POINT SEAT safety belts on school  buses  or  have
installed  or  have  contracted for the installation of THREE-POINT seat
safety belts prior to [the effective date of this section]  JULY  FIRST,
TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day following a first
appropriation  for  the school districts electing to provide for the use
of three-point seat safety belts;  provided  that  the  commissioner  of
education shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the
occurrence  of such appropriation in order that the commission may main-
tain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text  of
the  laws  of  the  state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the
provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of  the
public officers law.