Senate Bill No. 7
(By Senators Wooton and Bailey)
____________
[Introduced January 12, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article fourteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
requiring school buses purchased or refurbished after the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, to
be equipped with seat restraints for all passengers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article fourteen, chapter seventeen-c
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. MISCELLANEOUS RULES.
§17C-14-12. School bus regulations.
(a) The West Virginia board of education by and with the
advice of the motor vehicle commissioner shall adopt and enforce
regulations not inconsistent with this chapter to govern the
design and operation of all school buses used for the
transportation of school children when owned and operated by anycounty board of education or privately owned and operated under
contract with any county board of education in this state. and
such The regulations shall by reference be made a part of any
such contract with a county board of education contracts executed
between county boards of education and operators of privately
owned motor vehicles used to transport school children. Every
county board of education, its officers and employees, and every
person employed under contract by a county board of education
shall be subject to said the regulations.
(b) Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four, all new and refurbished motor vehicles
purchased or refurbished by a public governmental agency or by
any person employed by, or under contract with, a county board of
education to transport school children and operated for the
transportation of school children shall be equipped with seat
restraints for all passengers. The seat restraints required by
this section shall meet federal and state seat restraint
standards for school age children. Every county board of
education, its officers and employees, and every person employed
under contract by a county board of education to transport school
children are responsible for training school children in the
proper use of seat restraints and for ensuring seat restraints
are used by all school children when being transported.
(c) Any officer or employee of any county board of education
who violates any of said regulations promulgated by the state
board of education or who violates any provision of this sectionor who fails to include obligation to comply with said
regulations in any contract executed by him on behalf of a county
board of education shall be a provision in contracts with private
persons for the transportation of school children which requires
that transporters comply with the regulations promulgated by the
state board of education is guilty of misconduct and is subject
to removal from office or employment. Any person operating a
school bus under contract with a county board of education who
fails to comply with any said of these regulations or any of the
provisions of this section shall be is guilty of breach of
contract and such the contract shall may be canceled after notice
and hearing by the responsible officers of such on the matter
before the county board of education.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that school
buses purchased or refurbished after July 1, 1994, be equipped
with seat restraints for all passengers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.