| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1828 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules requiring the inclusion |
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| 6 | 6 | | of new safety equipment in school buses, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | MARCH4, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. C |
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| 10 | 10 | | OHENintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee |
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| 11 | 11 | | on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee |
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| 12 | 12 | | on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined |
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| 13 | 13 | | by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall |
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| 14 | 14 | | within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL |
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| 16 | 16 | | To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules |
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| 17 | 17 | | requiring the inclusion of new safety equipment in school |
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| 18 | 18 | | buses, and for other purposes. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Bus Safety Act 4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 |
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| 25 | 25 | | In this Act: 7 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) 3-POINT SAFETY BELT.—The term ‘‘3-point 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | safety belt’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Type 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2 seat belt assembly’’ in section 571.209 of title 49, 3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 4 |
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| 33 | 33 | | date of enactment of this Act). 5 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) A |
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| 35 | 35 | | UTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYS -6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | TEM.—The term ‘‘automatic emergency braking sys-7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | tem’’ means a crash avoidance system installed and 8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | operational in a vehicle that consists of— 9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (A) a forward collision warning function— 10 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (i) to detect vehicles and objects 11 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ahead of the vehicle; and 12 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (ii) to alert the operator of the vehicle 13 |
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| 43 | 43 | | of an impending collision; and 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (B) a crash-imminent braking function to 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | provide automatic braking when forward-look-16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | ing sensors of the vehicle indicate that— 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (i) a crash is imminent; and 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (ii) the operator of the vehicle is not 19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | reacting in a timely or appropriate man-20 |
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| 50 | 50 | | ner. 21 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (3) E |
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| 52 | 52 | | VENT DATA RECORDER .—The term ‘‘event 22 |
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| 53 | 53 | | data recorder’’ has the meaning given the term in 23 |
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| 54 | 54 | | section 563.5(b) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula-24 |
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| 57 | 57 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 58 | 58 | | tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 1 |
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| 59 | 59 | | Act). 2 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (4) S |
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| 61 | 61 | | CHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘school bus’’ has 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | the meaning given the term ‘‘schoolbus’’ in section 4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 5 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (5) S |
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| 65 | 65 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 6 |
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| 66 | 66 | | the Secretary of Transportation. 7 |
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| 67 | 67 | | SEC. 3. SCHOOL BUS SAFETY. 8 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (a) S |
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| 69 | 69 | | EATBELTREQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 9 |
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| 70 | 70 | | year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 10 |
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| 71 | 71 | | shall issue final rules prescribing or amending motor vehi-11 |
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| 72 | 72 | | cle safety standards under chapter 301 of title 49, United 12 |
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| 73 | 73 | | States Code, to require school buses with a gross vehicle 13 |
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| 74 | 74 | | weight rating of greater than 10,000 pounds to be 14 |
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| 75 | 75 | | equipped with a 3-point safety belt at each designated 15 |
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| 76 | 76 | | seating position. 16 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (b) F |
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| 78 | 78 | | IREPROTECTIONREQUIREMENTS.— 17 |
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| 79 | 79 | | (1) F |
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| 80 | 80 | | IRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS .— 18 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (A) I |
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| 82 | 82 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 19 |
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| 83 | 83 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-20 |
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| 84 | 84 | | retary shall issue rules prescribing or amending 21 |
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| 85 | 85 | | motor vehicle safety standards under chapter 22 |
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| 86 | 86 | | 301 of title 49, United States Code, to require 23 |
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| 87 | 87 | | school buses to be equipped with fire suppres-24 |
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| 90 | 90 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 91 | 91 | | sion systems that, at a minimum, address en-1 |
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| 92 | 92 | | gine fires. 2 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (B) A |
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| 94 | 94 | | PPLICATION.—The standards pre-3 |
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| 95 | 95 | | scribed or amendments made under subpara-4 |
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| 96 | 96 | | graph (A) shall apply to school buses manufac-5 |
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| 97 | 97 | | tured in, or imported into, the United States on 6 |
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| 98 | 98 | | or after the effective date of the standards or 7 |
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| 99 | 99 | | amendments. 8 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (2) F |
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| 101 | 101 | | IREWALLS.— 9 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (A) I |
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| 103 | 103 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 10 |
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| 104 | 104 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-11 |
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| 105 | 105 | | retary shall issue rules prescribing or amending 12 |
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| 106 | 106 | | motor vehicle safety standards under chapter 13 |
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| 107 | 107 | | 301 of title 49, United States Code, for school 14 |
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| 108 | 108 | | buses, especially school buses with engines that 15 |
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| 109 | 109 | | extend beyond the firewall, to ensure that no 16 |
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| 110 | 110 | | hazardous quantity of gas or flame can pass 17 |
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| 111 | 111 | | through the firewall from the engine compart-18 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ment to the passenger compartment. 19 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (B) A |
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| 114 | 114 | | PPLICATION.—The standards pre-20 |
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| 115 | 115 | | scribed or amendments made under subpara-21 |
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| 116 | 116 | | graph (A) shall apply to school buses manufac-22 |
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| 117 | 117 | | tured in, or imported into, the United States on 23 |
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| 118 | 118 | | or after the effective date of the standards or 24 |
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| 119 | 119 | | amendments. 25 |
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| 122 | 122 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 123 | 123 | | (3) INTERIOR FLAMMABILITY AND SMOKE EMIS -1 |
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| 124 | 124 | | SIONS CHARACTERISTICS .—Not later than 1 year 2 |
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| 125 | 125 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-3 |
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| 126 | 126 | | retary shall amend section 571.302 of title 49, Code 4 |
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| 127 | 127 | | of Federal Regulations (relating to Federal Motor 5 |
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| 128 | 128 | | Vehicle Safety Standard Number 302), to adopt, 6 |
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| 129 | 129 | | with respect to a motor vehicle (as defined in section 7 |
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| 130 | 130 | | 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code), perform-8 |
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| 131 | 131 | | ance standards for interior flammability and smoke 9 |
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| 132 | 132 | | emissions characteristics that are not less rigorous 10 |
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| 133 | 133 | | than the performance standards for interior flamma-11 |
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| 134 | 134 | | bility and smoke emissions characteristics applicable 12 |
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| 135 | 135 | | to— 13 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (A) a compartment occupied by the crew 14 |
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| 137 | 137 | | or passengers of a transport category airplane 15 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (within the meaning of part 25 of title 14, Code 16 |
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| 139 | 139 | | of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 17 |
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| 140 | 140 | | of enactment of this Act)) under section 25.853 18 |
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| 141 | 141 | | of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 19 |
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| 142 | 142 | | effect on the date of enactment of this Act); 20 |
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| 143 | 143 | | and 21 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (B) a passenger car or locomotive cab (as 22 |
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| 145 | 145 | | those terms are defined in section 238.5 of title 23 |
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| 146 | 146 | | 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 24 |
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| 147 | 147 | | the date of enactment of this Act)) under sec-25 |
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| 150 | 150 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 151 | 151 | | tion 238.103 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu-1 |
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| 152 | 152 | | lations (as in effect on the date of enactment of 2 |
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| 153 | 153 | | this Act). 3 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (c) O |
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| 155 | 155 | | THERSAFETYEQUIPMENTREQUIREMENTS.— 4 |
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| 156 | 156 | | Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 5 |
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| 157 | 157 | | Act, the Secretary shall issue final rules— 6 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (1) prescribing or amending motor vehicle safe-7 |
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| 159 | 159 | | ty standards under chapter 301 of title 49, United 8 |
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| 160 | 160 | | States Code, to require school buses to be equipped 9 |
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| 161 | 161 | | with— 10 |
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| 162 | 162 | | (A) an automatic emergency braking sys-11 |
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| 163 | 163 | | tem; 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (B) an event data recorder; and 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (C) an electronic stability control system 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (as defined in section 571.136 of title 49, Code 15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | of enactment of this Act)); and 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (2) amending part 383 of title 49, Code of Fed-18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | eral Regulations, to require not less than 8 hours of 19 |
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| 171 | 171 | | behind-the-wheel instruction for operators of school 20 |
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| 172 | 172 | | buses, which shall be accrued— 21 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (A) on public roads; and 22 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (B) with a trained instructor who pos-23 |
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| 175 | 175 | | sesses a valid commercial driver’s license with a 24 |
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| 176 | 176 | | school bus endorsement. 25 |
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| 179 | 179 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 180 | 180 | | (d) OBSTRUCTIVESLEEPAPNEA.—Not later than 1 1 |
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| 181 | 181 | | year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-2 |
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| 182 | 182 | | trator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 3 |
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| 183 | 183 | | and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Adminis-4 |
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| 184 | 184 | | tration shall complete the rulemaking process and publish 5 |
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| 185 | 185 | | a final rule with respect to the advance notice of proposed 6 |
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| 186 | 186 | | rulemaking entitled ‘‘Evaluation of Safety Sensitive Per-7 |
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| 187 | 187 | | sonnel for Moderate-to-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea’’ 8 |
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| 188 | 188 | | (81 Fed. Reg. 12642 (March 10, 2016)). 9 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (e) E |
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| 190 | 190 | | FFECTIVEDATE.—The standards prescribed or 10 |
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| 191 | 191 | | amendments made under subsections (a) and (c) shall 11 |
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| 192 | 192 | | apply with respect to school buses manufactured in, or im-12 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ported into, the United States on or after the date that 13 |
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| 194 | 194 | | is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary issues the 14 |
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| 195 | 195 | | rules required under the applicable subsection. 15 |
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| 196 | 196 | | SEC. 4. STUDIES. 16 |
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| 197 | 197 | | (a) M |
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| 198 | 198 | | OTION-ACTIVATEDDETECTIONSYSTEMS.— 17 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (1) I |
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| 200 | 200 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 18 |
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| 201 | 201 | | the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 19 |
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| 202 | 202 | | of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-20 |
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| 203 | 203 | | tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Adminis-21 |
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| 204 | 204 | | trator’’) shall complete a study with respect to the 22 |
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| 205 | 205 | | benefits of requiring school buses manufactured in, 23 |
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| 206 | 206 | | or imported into, the United States to be equipped 24 |
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| 209 | 209 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 210 | 210 | | with a motion-activated detection system that is ca-1 |
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| 211 | 211 | | pable of— 2 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (A) detecting pedestrians, bicyclists, and 3 |
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| 213 | 213 | | other road users located near the exterior of the 4 |
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| 214 | 214 | | school bus; and 5 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (B) alerting the operator of the school bus 6 |
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| 216 | 216 | | of the road users described in subparagraph 7 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (A). 8 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (2) R |
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| 219 | 219 | | EGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 9 |
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| 220 | 220 | | the date on which the Administrator completes the 10 |
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| 221 | 221 | | study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 11 |
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| 222 | 222 | | issue rules requiring school buses manufactured in, 12 |
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| 223 | 223 | | or imported into, the United States to effectuate 13 |
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| 224 | 224 | | that requirement. 14 |
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| 225 | 225 | | (b) S |
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| 226 | 226 | | AFETYBELTALERT.—Not later than 2 years 15 |
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| 227 | 227 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 16 |
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| 228 | 228 | | shall complete a study on the benefits of requiring school 17 |
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| 229 | 229 | | buses manufactured in, or imported into, the United 18 |
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| 230 | 230 | | States to be equipped with a system to alert the operator 19 |
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| 231 | 231 | | of the school bus if a passenger in the school bus is not 20 |
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| 232 | 232 | | wearing a 3-point safety belt equipped on the school bus. 21 |
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| 233 | 233 | | SEC. 5. SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 22 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (a) I |
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| 235 | 235 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 23 |
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| 236 | 236 | | date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-24 |
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| 237 | 237 | | tation shall establish a grant program to provide grants 25 |
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| 240 | 240 | | •HR 1828 IH |
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| 241 | 241 | | to States to make subgrants to local educational agen-1 |
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| 242 | 242 | | cies— 2 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (1) to assist the local educational agencies in 3 |
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| 244 | 244 | | purchasing school buses equipped with— 4 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (A) 3-point safety belts at each designated 5 |
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| 246 | 246 | | seating position; or 6 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (B) any other school bus safety feature de-7 |
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| 248 | 248 | | scribed in section 3 or 4; and 8 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (2) to assist the local educational agencies in 9 |
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| 250 | 250 | | modifying school buses already owned by the local 10 |
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| 251 | 251 | | educational agency to be equipped with— 11 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (A) 3-point safety belts at each designated 12 |
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| 253 | 253 | | seating position; or 13 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (B) any other school bus safety feature de-14 |
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| 255 | 255 | | scribed in section 3 or 4. 15 |
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| 256 | 256 | | (b) A |
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| 257 | 257 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 16 |
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| 258 | 258 | | are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-17 |
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| 259 | 259 | | essary to carry out this section. 18 |
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| 260 | 260 | | Æ |
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