COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 7
(By Senators Wooton and Bailey)
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[Originating in the Committee on Educationon;;
reported and then to the Committee on Finance.], 1994.]
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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 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 thedesign and operation of all school buses used for the
transportation of school children when owned and operated by any
county board of education or privately owned and operated under
contract with any county board of education in this state. The
regulations shall be made a part of 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 the regulations.
(b) Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four, all new motor vehicles purchased 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 regulations promulgated by the state board of
education or who violates any provision of this section or who
fails to include a provision in contracts with private personsfor 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 of these regulations or any of the provisions of
this section is guilty of breach of contract and the contract
may be canceled after notice and hearing on the matter before the
county board of education.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that school
buses purchased after July 1, 1994, be equipped with seat
restraints for all passengers.