1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; redefining types of 
  1.3             school buses to increase by two persons their maximum 
  1.4             manufacturer's rated seating capacity; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.01, subdivision 6.
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.01, 
  1.8   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 6.  [SCHOOL BUS.] "School bus" means a motor vehicle 
  1.10  used to transport pupils to or from a school defined in section 
  1.11  120A.22, or to or from school-related activities, by the school 
  1.12  or a school district, or by someone under an agreement with the 
  1.13  school or a school district.  A school bus does not include a 
  1.14  motor vehicle transporting children to or from school for which 
  1.15  parents or guardians receive direct compensation from a school 
  1.16  district, a motor coach operating under charter carrier 
  1.17  authority, a transit bus providing services as defined in 
  1.18  section 174.22, subdivision 7, or a vehicle otherwise qualifying 
  1.19  as a type III vehicle under paragraph (5), when the vehicle is 
  1.20  properly registered and insured and being driven by an employee 
  1.21  or agent of a school district for nonscheduled transportation.  
  1.22  A school bus may be type A, type B, type C, or type D, or type 
  1.23  III as follows:  
  1.24     (1) A "type A school bus" is a conversion or body 
  1.25  constructed upon a van-type or cutaway front section vehicle 
  2.1   with a left-side driver's door, designed for carrying more than 
  2.2   ten 12 persons.  This definition includes two classifications:  
  2.3   type A-I, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 
  2.4   pounds; and type A-II, with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. 
  2.5      (2) A "type B school bus" is a conversion or body 
  2.6   constructed and installed upon a van or front-section vehicle 
  2.7   chassis, or stripped chassis, with a gross vehicle weight rating 
  2.8   of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  2.9   12 persons.  Part of the engine is beneath or behind the 
  2.10  windshield and beside the driver's seat.  The entrance door is 
  2.11  behind the front wheels. 
  2.12     (3) A "type C school bus" is a body installed upon a flat 
  2.13  back cowl chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
  2.14  than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 12 
  2.15  persons.  All of the engine is in front of the windshield and 
  2.16  the entrance door is behind the front wheels. 
  2.17     (4) A "type D school bus" is a body installed upon a 
  2.18  chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, midship or rear, 
  2.19  with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, 
  2.20  designed for carrying more than ten 12 persons.  The engine may 
  2.21  be behind the windshield and beside the driver's seat; it may be 
  2.22  at the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels, or midship 
  2.23  between the front and rear axles.  The entrance door is ahead of 
  2.24  the front wheels. 
  2.25     (5) Type III school buses and type III Head Start buses are 
  2.26  restricted to passenger cars, station wagons, vans, and buses in 
  2.27  service after January 1, 1999, having an original maximum 
  2.28  manufacturer's rated seating capacity of ten 12 or fewer people, 
  2.29  including the driver, and a gross vehicle weight rating of 
  2.30  10,000 pounds or less.  In this subdivision, "gross vehicle 
  2.31  weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as 
  2.32  the loaded weight of a single vehicle.  A "type III school bus" 
  2.33  and "type III Head Start bus" must not be outwardly equipped and 
  2.34  identified as a type A, B, C, or D school bus or type A, B, C, 
  2.35  or D Head Start bus.