BILL NUMBER: SB 247 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
An act to add Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 11900)
to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to
public schools. An act to add Section 5384.3 to the
Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 247, as amended, Lara. Dream Centers: educational
support services. Charter bus transportation: safety
improvements.
The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act, with certain
exceptions, prohibits a charter-party carrier of passengers from
engaging in transportation services subject to regulation by the
Public Utilities Commission without obtaining a specified certificate
or permit, as appropriate, from the commission, and imposes various
other requirements on charter-party carriers of passengers. The act
provides for the safety regulation of charter-party carriers of
passengers engaged in charter bus transportation by the commission. A
violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would require a charter-party carrier of passengers
engaged in charter bus transportation to ensure that the driver of a
charter bus performs 2 specified tasks prior to any trip that
include, among other things, instructions to all passengers on the
safety equipment and emergency exits on the vehicle. The bill would
also make findings and declarations and declare the intent of the
Legislature to enact specified legislation to require safety
improvements on charter buses.
Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary schools maintained and operated by local educational
agencies throughout the state. Existing law also establishes the
California State University, under the administration of the Trustees
of the California State University, the University of California,
under the administration of the Regents of the University of
California, and the California Community Colleges, under the
administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this
state.
Existing law requires the Student Aid Commission to establish
procedures and forms that enable students who are exempt from paying
nonresident tuition because they meet specified residency
requirements, or who meet equivalent requirements adopted by the
regents, to apply for, and participate in, all student financial aid
programs administered by the state to the full extent permitted by
federal law.
This bill would authorize the governing board of each school
district or county office of education that maintains any of grades 9
to 12, inclusive, the governing board of each community college
district, and the Trustees of the California State University to
establish, and would encourage the Regents of the University of
California to establish, undocumented student support services to
include, but not necessarily be limited to, state and institutional
financial aid assistance, academic counseling, referral services, and
on-campus Dream Centers.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 . The Legislature
finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The safety of passengers traveling in charter buses in
California is of the utmost importance. According to the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, between 1975 and 2012, there
were over 11,000 fatal crashes involving charter buses, including
1,567 occupant fatalities. Improved safety standards and practices
are necessary to better protect passengers in the event of a charter
bus crash.
(b) On April 10, 2014, in Orland California, eight passengers
traveling on a charter bus, along with the driver, were tragically
killed in a freeway collision. In a report released in 2015, the
National Transportation Safety Board examined the crash and made
recommendations for safety improvements, including fire performance
standards for interior materials, requiring pretrip safety briefings
for passengers, improvements in vehicle design to facilitate
evacuation, and the installation of event data recorder (EDR)
technology for crash reconstruction and safety improvements.
(c) These improvements would significantly increase passenger
safety and would reduce or prevent future deaths in traffic
collisions involving charter buses.
SEC. 2 . It is the intent of
the Legislature to enact legislation that would require charter
buses to implement all of the following safety improvements:
(a) Burn resistant materials for occupant compartments.
(b) Emergency lighting fixtures with self-contained independent
power sources that will turn on in the event of an accident.
(c) Interior and exterior luminescent or retro-reflective
emergency signage.
(d) An event data recorder capable of recording certain
vehicle-related data in the event of sudden deceleration or hard
braking.
(e) Bus windows that can be easily opened and remain open during
an emergency.
(f) That new buses be equipped with a secondary door for use as an
additional emergency exit.
SEC. 3. Section 5384.3 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
5384.3. A charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in charter
bus transportation shall ensure that the driver of a vehicle
described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 5363
performs both of the following tasks prior to any trip:
(a) Instructs all passengers on the safety equipment and emergency
exits on the vehicle.
(b) Provides each passenger with written instructions that
include, at a minimum, the location and operation of all exits,
including emergency exits, and the importance of wearing a seatbelt,
if available.
SEC. 4 . No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
11900) is added to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 20. DREAM CENTERS
11900. The governing board of each school district or county
office of education that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
the governing board of each community college district, and the
Trustees of the California State University may establish, and the
Regents of the University of California are encouraged to establish,
undocumented student support services to include, but not necessarily
be limited to, state and institutional financial aid assistance,
academic counseling, referral services, and on-campus Dream Centers.