Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB134 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0134
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 134
8	8	R5, F1 5lr0768
9	9	HB 196/24 – ENT & W&M (PRE–FILED)
10	10	By: Delegate Taveras
11	11	Requested: September 9, 2024
12	12	Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025
13	13	Assigned to: Environment and Transportation and Ways and Means
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Motor Vehicles – School Buses – Seat Belts 2
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of requiring the public school safety education program to include student 3
22	22	instruction concerning school bus safety and the proper use of seat belts on school 4
23	23	buses; requiring school buses purchased after a certain date and registered in the 5
24	24	State to be equipped with certain seat belts in a certain manner; prohibiting a civil 6
25	25	action for damages based on the failure of a school bus operator to ensure that an 7
26	26	occupant of a school bus was wearing a seat belt; and generally relating to the use of 8
27	27	seat belts on school buses. 9
28	28
29	29	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
30	30	Article – Education 11
31	31	Section 7–410 12
32	32	Annotated Code of Maryland 13
33	33	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
34	34
35	35	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 15
36	36	Article – Transportation 16
37	37	Section 11–153 and 11–173 17
38	38	Annotated Code of Maryland 18
39	39	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
40	40
41	41	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 20
42	42	Article – Transportation 21
43	43	Section 21–1118, 22–412, and 22–412.3 22
44	44	Annotated Code of Maryland 23
45	45	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 24
46	46
47	47	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 25
48	48	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 26 2 HOUSE BILL 134
49	49
50	50
51	51
52	52	Article – Education 1
53	53
54	54	7–410. 2
55	55
56	56	(A) Each public school shall have a program of safety education that is organized 3
57	57	and administered under the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the State Board. 4
58	58
59	59	(B) THE PROGRAM OF SAFETY EDUCATION REQUIRED U NDER SUBSECTION 5
60	60	(A) OF THIS SECTION SHAL L INCLUDE STUDENT IN STRUCTION ON SCHOOL BUS 6
61	61	SAFETY AND THE PROPE R USE OF SEAT BELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES . 7
62	62
63	63	Article – Transportation 8
64	64
65	65	11–153. 9
66	66
67	67	“School bus” means a Type I school vehicle, as defined in this subtitle. 10
68	68
69	69	11–173. 11
70	70
71	71	(a) “Type I school vehicle” means a school vehicle that: 12
72	72
73	73	(1) Is designed and constructed to carry passengers; 13
74	74
75	75	(2) Is either of the body–on–chassis type construction or integral type 14
76	76	construction; and 15
77	77
78	78	(3) Has a gross vehicle weight of more than 15,000 pounds and provides a 16
79	79	minimum of 13 inches of seating space per passenger. 17
80	80
81	81	(b) “Type I school vehicle” does not include any bus operated by a common carrier 18
82	82	under the jurisdiction of a State, regional, or federal regulatory agency or operated by the 19
83	83	agency itself. 20
84	84
85	85	21–1118. 21
86	86
87	87	(a) The driver of a school bus: 22
88	88
89	89	(1) Is responsible for its operation; and 23
90	90
91	91	(2) May not drive it into any roadway without first stopping and 24
92	92	determining that there is no danger from any other vehicle. 25
93	93
94	94	(b) The person responsible for any pupils on a school bus is: 26
95	95
96	96	(1) The teacher on the bus; or 27
97	97	HOUSE BILL 134 3
98	98
99	99
100	100	(2) If a teacher is not present, the driver. 1
101	101
102	102	(c) A person responsible for pupils on a school bus may not [permit] ALLOW the 2
103	103	number of standing pupils to exceed one pupil for each part of the aisle that is bounded on 3
104	104	both sides by forward facing seats. 4
105	105
106	106	(d) A person responsible for pupils on a school bus may not [permit] ALLOW any 5
107	107	pupil to stand if the school bus is equipped only with lengthwise or a combination of 6
108	108	lengthwise and forward facing seats. 7
109	109
110	110	(e) A person responsible for pupils on a school bus may not [permit] ALLOW any 8
111	111	pupil to stand in front of the stanchion and guardrail. 9
112	112
113	113	(f) A person responsible for pupils on a school bus may not [permit] ALLOW any 10
114	114	pupil to operate the front door opening mechanism, except in an emergency. 11
115	115
116	116	(g) A person responsible for pupils on a school bus may not require any pupil to 12
117	117	sit on the floor. 13
118	118
119	119	(h) Except for the driver and any fuel station attendant, a person may not occupy 14
120	120	a school bus while it is being supplied with fuel. 15
121	121
122	122	(i) Either the driver or an adult aide assigned to each school vehicle that is used 16
123	123	to transport handicapped children shall be certified as having successfully completed a first 17
124	124	aid–safety course approved by the Department of Education. 18
125	125
126	126	22–412. 19
127	127
128	128	(a) Every motor vehicle registered in [this] THE State and manufactured or 20
129	129	assembled after June 1, 1964, shall be equipped with two sets of seat belts on the front seat 21
130	130	of the vehicle. 22
131	131
132	132	(b) Every motor vehicle registered in [this] THE State and manufactured or 23
133	133	assembled with a rear seat after June 1, 1969, shall be equipped with two sets of seat belts 24
134	134	on the rear seat of the vehicle. 25
135	135
136	136	(c) EVERY SCHOOL BUS PURC HASED ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2027, AND 26
137	137	REGISTERED IN THE STATE SHALL BE EQUIPP ED WITH, FOR EACH SEAT ON THE 27
138	138	SCHOOL BUS, 3–POINT SEAT BELTS THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE TO PASSENGERS . 28
139	139
140	140	(D) A person may not sell or offer for sale any vehicle in violation of this section. 29
141	141
142	142	[(d)] (E) For the purpose of this section only, “motor vehicle” does not include 30
143	143	any motorcycle other than an autocycle, bus, or truck. 31
144	144	4 HOUSE BILL 134
145	145
146	146
147	147	[(e)] (F) For the purpose of this section only, “seat belt” means any belt, strap, 1
148	148	harness, or like device. 2
149	149
150	150	[(f)] (G) A seat belt may not be sold or offered for sale for use in connection with 3
151	151	the operation of a motor vehicle in [this] THE State after June 1, 1964, unless it meets 4
152	152	applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. 5
153	153
154	154	22–412.3. 6
155	155
156	156	(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 7
157	157
158	158	(2) (i) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle that is: 8
159	159
160	160	1. Registered or capable of being registered in [this] THE 9
161	161	State as a Class A (passenger), Class E (truck), Class F (tractor), Class M (multipurpose), 10
162	162	or Class P (passenger bus) vehicle; and 11
163	163
164	164	2. Required to be equipped with seat belts under federal 12
165	165	motor vehicle safety standards contained in the Code of Federal Regulations. 13
166	166
167	167	(ii) “Motor vehicle” does not include a Class L (historic) vehicle. 14
168	168
169	169	(3) “Outboard front seat” means a front seat position that is adjacent to a 15
170	170	door of a motor vehicle. 16
171	171
172	172	(4) (i) “Seat belt” means a restraining device described under § 22–412 17
173	173	of this subtitle. 18
174	174
175	175	(ii) “Seat belt” includes a combination seat belt–shoulder harness. 19
176	176
177	177	(b) A person may not operate a motor vehicle unless the person and each occupant 20
178	178	under 16 years old are restrained by a seat belt or a child safety seat as provided in § 21
179	179	22–412.2 of this subtitle. 22
180	180
181	181	(c) (1) The provisions of this subsection apply to a person who is at least 16 23
182	182	years old. 24
183	183
184	184	(2) Unless a person is restrained by a seat belt, the person may not be a 25
185	185	passenger in an outboard front seat of a motor vehicle. 26
186	186
187	187	(3) (i) Unless a person is restrained by a seat belt, the person may not 27
188	188	be a passenger in a rear seat of a motor vehicle. 28
189	189
190	190	(ii) A police officer may enforce this paragraph only as a secondary 29
191	191	action when the police officer detains a driver of a motor vehicle for a suspected violation 30
192	192	of another provision of the Code. 31
193	193	HOUSE BILL 134 5
194	194
195	195
196	196	(d) If a physician licensed to practice medicine in [this] THE State determines 1
197	197	and certifies in writing that use of a seat belt by a person would prevent appropriate 2
198	198	restraint due to a person’s physical disability or other medical reason, the provisions of this 3
199	199	section do not apply to the person. 4
200	200
201	201	(e) A certification under subsection (d) of this section shall state: 5
202	202
203	203	(1) The nature of the physical disability; and 6
204	204
205	205	(2) The reason that restraint by a seat belt is inappropriate. 7
206	206
207	207	(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to U.S. Postal Service and contract 8
208	208	carriers while delivering mail to local box routes. 9
209	209
210	210	(g) A violation of this section is not considered a moving violation for purposes of 10
211	211	§ 16–402 of this article. 11
212	212
213	213	(h) (1) Failure of an individual to use a seat belt in violation of this section may 12
214	214	not: 13
215	215
216	216	(i) Be considered evidence of negligence; 14
217	217
218	218	(ii) Be considered evidence of contributory negligence; 15
219	219
220	220	(iii) Limit liability of a party or an insurer; or 16
221	221
222	222	(iv) Diminish recovery for damages arising out of the ownership, 17
223	223	maintenance, or operation of a motor vehicle. 18
224	224
225	225	(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection, a party, 19
226	226	witness, or counsel may not make reference to a seat belt during a trial of a civil action that 20
227	227	involves property damage, personal injury, or death if the damage, injury, or death is not 21
228	228	related to the design, manufacture, installation, supplying, or repair of a seat belt. 22
229	229
230	230	(3) (i) Nothing contained in this subsection may be construed to 23
231	231	prohibit the right of a person to institute a civil action for damages against a dealer, 24
232	232	manufacturer, distributor, factory branch, or other appropriate entity arising out of an 25
233	233	incident that involves a defectively installed or defectively operating seat belt. 26
234	234
235	235	(ii) In a civil action in which [2] TWO or more parties are named as 27
236	236	joint tort–feasors, interpleaded as defendants, or impleaded as defendants, and [1] ONE of 28
237	237	the joint tort–feasors or defendants is not involved in the design, manufacture, installation, 29
238	238	supplying, or repair of a seat belt, a court shall order separate trials to accomplish the ends 30
239	239	of justice on a motion of any party. 31
240	240
241	241	(4) THE FAILURE OF A SCHO OL BUS OPERATOR TO E NSURE THAT AN 32
242	242	OCCUPANT OF A SCHOOL BUS WAS WEARING A SE AT BELT MAY NOT BE T HE BASIS OF 33 6 HOUSE BILL 134
243	243
244	244
245	245	A CIVIL ACTION FOR D AMAGES AGAINST THE S CHOOL BUS OPERATOR O R A SCHOOL, 1
246	246	SCHOOL DISTRICT , OR MUNICIPALITY . 2
247	247
248	248	(i) The Administration and the Department of State Police shall establish 3
249	249	prevention and education programs to encourage compliance with the provisions of this 4
250	250	section. 5
251	251
252	252	(j) The Administration shall include information on [this] THE State’s experience 6
253	253	with the provisions of this section in the annual evaluation report on the State’s highway 7
254	254	safety plan that [this] THE State submits to the National Highway Traffic Safety 8
255	255	Administration and the Federal Highway Administration under 23 U.S.C. § 402. 9
256	256
257	257	(k) Any person convicted of a violation of this section is subject to a fine of not 10
258	258	more than $50. 11
259	259
260	260	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 12
261	261	October 1, 2025. 13
262	262