SF 2252

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/25/2014 02:19pm

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; pupil transportation; requiring seat belt cutters in
type III vehicles; requiring school bus drivers to conduct post-trip inspections;
modifying reporting and cancellation requirements for bus endorsements;
providing for criminal penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections
169.443, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision; 169.451, subdivision 4, by
adding a subdivision; 169.454, by adding a subdivision; 169.4582, by adding a
subdivision; 171.02, subdivision 2b; 171.3215, subdivisions 1, 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.443, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Misdemeanor.

Except as provided in subdivision 10, paragraph (b), a
person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.443, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 10.

Post-trip inspection.

(a) Each driver must complete an interior post-trip
inspection of the school bus to ensure no student or students are left unattended.

(b) If a child is left unattended on a school bus after a posttrip inspection or as the
result of the failure to conduct a posttrip inspection under this subdivision, the driver is
guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.451, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Violation; penalty.

The State Patrol shall enforce subdivision subdivisions
2 and 6. A violation of subdivision 2 is a misdemeanor, and a violation of subdivision 6
is a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.451, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 6.

Operation of out of service school buses prohibited.

No carrier, district,
or operator shall require or allow any person to operate, for the purposes of passenger
transportation, a school bus that has been clearly marked "out of service" until all of the
violations causing the "out of service" status have been satisfactorily remedied.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.454, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 10a.

Webbing cutter.

Each vehicle shall be equipped with a durable webbing
cutter having a full width handgrip and a protected, replaceable, or noncorrodible blade.
The webbing cutter shall be mounted in a location accessible to the seated driver, and
must be easily detachable for use.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 169.4582, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 3.

Failure to conduct post-trip inspection; reporting.

Any carrier or district
must report any violation of section 169.443, subdivision 10, paragraph (b), to the director
of pupil transportation within 72 hours. A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.02, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:

Subd. 2b.

Exception for type III vehicle drivers.

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision
2, the holder of a class A, B, C, or D driver's license, without a school bus endorsement,
may operate a type III vehicle described in section 169.011, subdivision 71, paragraph
(h), under the conditions in paragraphs (b) through (o) (p).

(b) The operator is an employee of the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for
the school bus.

(c) The operator's employer has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for
annual training and certification of the operator in:

(1) safe operation of a type III vehicle;

(2) understanding student behavior, including issues relating to students with
disabilities;

(3) encouraging orderly conduct of students on the bus and handling incidents of
misconduct appropriately;

(4) knowing and understanding relevant laws, rules of the road, and local school
bus safety policies;

(5) handling emergency situations;

(6) proper use of seat belts and child safety restraints;

(7) performance of pretrip vehicle inspections;

(8) safe loading and unloading of students, including, but not limited to:

(i) utilizing a safe location for loading and unloading students at the curb, on the
nontraffic side of the roadway, or at off-street loading areas, driveways, yards, and other
areas to enable the student to avoid hazardous conditions;

(ii) refraining from loading and unloading students in a vehicular traffic lane, on the
shoulder, in a designated turn lane, or a lane adjacent to a designated turn lane;

(iii) avoiding a loading or unloading location that would require a pupil to cross a
road, or ensuring that the driver or an aide personally escort the pupil across the road if it
is not reasonably feasible to avoid such a location;

(iv) placing the type III vehicle in "park" during loading and unloading; and

(v) escorting a pupil across the road under item (iii) only after the motor is stopped,
the ignition key is removed, the brakes are set, and the vehicle is otherwise rendered
immobile; and

(9) compliance with paragraph (k), concerning reporting certain convictions to the
employer within ten days of the date of conviction.

(d) A background check or background investigation of the operator has been
conducted that meets the requirements under section 122A.18, subdivision 8, or 123B.03
for school district employees; section 144.057 or chapter 245C for day care employees; or
section 171.321, subdivision 3, for all other persons operating a type III vehicle under
this subdivision.

(e) Operators shall submit to a physical examination as required by section 171.321,
subdivision 2.

(f) The operator's employer requires preemployment drug testing of applicants for
operator positions. Current operators must comply with the employer's policy under
section 181.951, subdivisions 2, 4, and 5. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
operator's employer may use a Breathalyzer or similar device to fulfill random alcohol
testing requirements.

(g) The operator's driver's license is verified annually by the entity that owns, leases,
or contracts for the type III vehicle as required under section 171.321, subdivision 5.

(h) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of violating
section 169A.25, 169A.26, 169A.27, or 169A.31, or whose driver's license is revoked under
sections 169A.50 to 169A.53 of the implied consent law, or who is convicted of violating
or whose driver's license is revoked under a similar statute or ordinance of another state, is
precluded from operating a type III vehicle for five years from the date of conviction.

(i) A person who has ever been convicted of a disqualifying offense as defined in
section 171.3215, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), may not operate a type III vehicle under
this subdivision.

(j) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of a moving
offense in violation of chapter 169 within three years of the first of three other moving
offenses is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for one year from the date of
the last conviction.

(k) An operator who sustains a conviction as described in paragraph (h), (i), or (j)
while employed by the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the school bus, shall report
the conviction to the employer within ten days of the date of the conviction.

(l) An operator of a type III vehicle or Head Start vehicle whose license is
suspended, revoked, or canceled by this state or another state or jurisdiction must notify
the operator's employer of the suspension, revocation, cancellation, lost privilege, or other
disqualification. The operator must notify the employer before the end of the business day
following the day the operator received notice of the suspension, revocation, cancellation,
lost privilege, or disqualification.

(l) (m) Students riding the type III vehicle must have training required under section
123B.90, subdivision 2.

(m) (n) Documentation of meeting the requirements listed in this subdivision must
be maintained under separate file at the business location for each type III vehicle
operator. The business manager, school board, governing body of a nonpublic school, or
any other entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the type III vehicle operating under this
subdivision is responsible for maintaining these files for inspection.

(n) (o) The type III vehicle must bear a current certificate of inspection issued under
section 169.451.

(o) (p) An employee of a school or of a school district, who is not employed for the
sole purpose of operating a type III vehicle, is exempt from paragraphs (e) and (f).

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.3215, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the meanings given them.

(b) "School bus driver" means a person possessing a school bus driver's endorsement
on a valid Minnesota driver's license or a person possessing a valid Minnesota driver's
license who drives a vehicle with a seating capacity of ten or less persons used as a
school bus.

(c) "Disqualifying offense" includes (1) any felony offense, (2) any misdemeanor,
gross misdemeanor, or felony violation of chapter 152, (3) any violation under section
609.3451, 609.746, subdivision 1, 617.23, 617.246, 617.247, or 617.293, or (4) while
driving, operating, or being in physical control of a school bus or a Head Start bus, a
violation of section 169A.20 or a similar statute or ordinance from another state, or
violation of section 169.443, subdivision 10, paragraph (b).

(d) "Head Start bus driver" means a person possessing a valid Minnesota driver's
license:

(1) with a passenger endorsement, who drives a Head Start bus;

(2) with a school bus driver's endorsement, who drives a Head Start bus; or

(3) who drives a vehicle with a seating capacity of ten or fewer persons used as a
Head Start bus.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.3215, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Cancellation for disqualifying and other offenses.

Except as otherwise
provided in this section, within ten days of receiving notice under section 631.40,
subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice for a nonresident driver, that a school bus
driver has been convicted of a disqualifying offense, the commissioner shall permanently
cancel the school bus driver's endorsement on the offender's driver's license and in the
case of a nonresident, the driver's privilege to operate a school bus in Minnesota. A school
bus driver whose endorsement or privilege to operate a school bus in Minnesota has been
permanently canceled may not apply for reinstatement. Within ten days of receiving notice
under section 631.40, subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice for a nonresident
driver, that a school bus driver has been convicted of a violation of section 169A.20, or a
similar statute or ordinance from another state, and within ten days of revoking a school
bus driver's license under section 169A.52, the commissioner shall cancel the school
bus driver's endorsement on the offender's driver's license or the nonresident's privilege
to operate a school bus in Minnesota for five years. After five years, a school bus driver
may apply to the commissioner for reinstatement. Even after five years, cancellation of a
school bus driver's endorsement or a nonresident's privilege to operate a school bus in
Minnesota for a violation under section 169A.20, sections 169A.50 to 169A.53, or a
similar statute or ordinance from another state, shall remain in effect until the driver
provides proof of successful completion of an alcohol or controlled substance treatment
program. For a first offense, proof of completion is required only if treatment was ordered
as part of a chemical use assessment. Within ten days of receiving notice under section
631.40, subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice for a nonresident driver, that a school
bus driver has been convicted of a fourth moving violation in the last three years, the
commissioner shall cancel the school bus driver's endorsement on the offender's driver's
license or the nonresident's privilege to operate a school bus in Minnesota until one year
has elapsed since the last conviction. A school bus driver who has no new convictions
after one year may apply for reinstatement. Upon conviction for a violation of section
169.443, subdivision 10, paragraph (b), the commissioner shall cancel the school bus
driver's endorsement on the offender's driver's license for one year. Upon canceling the
offender's school bus driver's endorsement, the commissioner shall immediately notify the
licensed offender of the cancellation in writing, by depositing in the United States post
office a notice addressed to the licensed offender at the licensed offender's last known
address, with postage prepaid thereon.