Public Act 097-0224
 
SB1669 EnrolledLRB097 09978 HEP 50147 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Sections 6-106.1, 6-106.11, 12-707.01, 13-101, and 13-109 and
by adding Section 6-106.12 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-106.1)
    Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
    (a) The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus driver
permit to those applicants who have met all the requirements of
the application and screening process under this Section to
insure the welfare and safety of children who are transported
on school buses throughout the State of Illinois. Applicants
shall obtain the proper application required by the Secretary
of State from their prospective or current employer and submit
the completed application to the prospective or current
employer along with the necessary fingerprint submission as
required by the Department of State Police to conduct
fingerprint based criminal background checks on current and
future information available in the state system and current
information available through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's system. Applicants who have completed the
fingerprinting requirements shall not be subjected to the
fingerprinting process when applying for subsequent permits or
submitting proof of successful completion of the annual
refresher course. Individuals who on the effective date of this
Act possess a valid school bus driver permit that has been
previously issued by the appropriate Regional School
Superintendent are not subject to the fingerprinting
provisions of this Section as long as the permit remains valid
and does not lapse. The applicant shall be required to pay all
related application and fingerprinting fees as established by
rule including, but not limited to, the amounts established by
the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to process fingerprint based criminal background
investigations. All fees paid for fingerprint processing
services under this Section shall be deposited into the State
Police Services Fund for the cost incurred in processing the
fingerprint based criminal background investigations. All
other fees paid under this Section shall be deposited into the
Road Fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of the
Secretary of State in administering this Section. All
applicants must:
        1. be 21 years of age or older;
        2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
    license issued by the Secretary of State;
        3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not been
    revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years immediately
    prior to the date of application, or have not had his or
    her commercial motor vehicle driving privileges
    disqualified within the 3 years immediately prior to the
    date of application;
        4. successfully pass a written test, administered by
    the Secretary of State, on school bus operation, school bus
    safety, and special traffic laws relating to school buses
    and submit to a review of the applicant's driving habits by
    the Secretary of State at the time the written test is
    given;
        5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care in
    the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
    promulgated by the Secretary of State;
        6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
    buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
    including tests for drug use for each applicant not subject
    to such testing pursuant to federal law, conducted by a
    licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse who has a
    written collaborative agreement with a collaborating
    physician which authorizes him or her to perform medical
    examinations, or a physician assistant who has been
    delegated the performance of medical examinations by his or
    her supervising physician within 90 days of the date of
    application according to standards promulgated by the
    Secretary of State;
        7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she has
    not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
    material fact in any application for permit;
        8. have completed an initial classroom course,
    including first aid procedures, in school bus driver safety
    as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and after
    satisfactory completion of said initial course an annual
    refresher course; such courses and the agency or
    organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
    the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
    refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
    permit until such course is completed;
        9. not have been under an order of court supervision
    for or convicted of 2 or more serious traffic offenses, as
    defined by rule, within one year prior to the date of
    application that may endanger the life or safety of any of
    the driver's passengers within the duration of the permit
    period;
        10. not have been under an order of court supervision
    for or convicted of reckless driving, aggravated reckless
    driving, driving while under the influence of alcohol,
    other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or
    any combination thereof, or reckless homicide resulting
    from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of the
    date of application;
        11. not have been convicted of committing or attempting
    to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i)
    those offenses defined in Sections 8-1.2, 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2,
    9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5,
    10-5.1, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 11-6, 11-6.5, 11-6.6, 11-9,
    11-9.1, 11-9.3, 11-9.4, 11-14, 11-14.1, 11-15, 11-15.1,
    11-16, 11-17, 11-17.1, 11-18, 11-18.1, 11-19, 11-19.1,
    11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-20.3, 11-21, 11-22, 11-23,
    11-24, 11-25, 11-26, 12-2.6, 12-3.1, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2,
    12-4.2-5, 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-4.6, 12-4.7, 12-4.9,
    12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-7.5, 12-11,
    12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-16.2, 12-21.5,
    12-21.6, 12-33, 16-16, 16-16.1, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4,
    18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1, 20-1.2, 20-1.3, 20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1,
    24-1.2, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-1.7, 24-2.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.5,
    31A-1, 31A-1.1, 33A-2, and 33D-1, and in subsection (b) of
    Section 8-1, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b),
    clause (1), of Section 12-4, and in subsection (A), clauses
    (a) and (b), of Section 24-3, and those offenses contained
    in Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those
    offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except those
    offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 4,
    and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis Control
    Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois
    Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in
    the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act;
    (v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state
    or against the laws of the United States, which if
    committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as
    one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses
    defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children
    Act; (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of the
    Liquor Control Act of 1934; and (viii) those offenses
    defined in the Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act; .
        12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver in
    motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted of
    offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
    movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
    ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
    safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
    traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
    highway;
        13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a motor
    vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death of any
    person; and
        14. not have, within the last 5 years, been adjudged to
    be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability
    or disease.
    (b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a period
specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by rule. It
shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection (a) of this
Section.
    (c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the holder's
driver's license number, legal name, residence address, zip
code, social security number and date of birth, a brief
description of the holder and a space for signature. The
Secretary of State may require a suitable photograph of the
holder.
    (d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver
candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and submitting
the applicant's fingerprint cards to the Department of State
Police that are required for the criminal background
investigations. The employer shall certify in writing to the
Secretary of State that all pre-employment conditions have been
successfully completed including the successful completion of
an Illinois specific criminal background investigation through
the Department of State Police and the submission of necessary
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
criminal history information available through the Federal
Bureau of Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
submitting the school bus driver permit application.
    (e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon receiving
certification from the employer that all pre-employment
conditions have been successfully completed, and upon
successful completion of all training and examination
requirements for the classification of the vehicle to be
operated, the Secretary of State shall provisionally issue a
School Bus Driver Permit. The permit shall remain in a
provisional status pending the completion of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation's criminal background investigation based
upon fingerprinting specimens submitted to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation by the Department of State Police. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall report the findings directly to
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall remove the
bus driver permit from provisional status upon the applicant's
successful completion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
criminal background investigation.
    (f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is issued an
order of court supervision for or convicted in another state of
an offense that would make him or her ineligible for a permit
under subsection (a) of this Section. The written notification
shall be made within 5 days of the entry of the order of court
supervision or conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for a
first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
subsequent violation.
    (g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
        (1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit of an applicant whose criminal background
    investigation discloses that he or she is not in compliance
    with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
        (2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
    permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
    Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
    this Section.
        (3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit if the permit holder's restricted commercial
    or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn or
    otherwise invalidated.
        (4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school bus
    driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant who
    fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
    required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
    under federal law.
        (5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend a
    school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon
    receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
    negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
    subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
        (6) The Secretary of State shall suspend a school bus
    driver permit for a period of 3 years upon receiving notice
    from the employer that the holder failed to perform the
    inspection procedure set forth in subsection (a) or (b) of
    Section 12-816 of this Code.
    The Secretary of State shall notify the State
Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1) has
failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no longer
eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the related
cancellation of the applicant's provisional school bus driver
permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect pending the
outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118 of this Code.
The scope of the hearing shall be limited to the issuance
criteria contained in subsection (a) of this Section. A
petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the individual
feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver permit. The
permit holder's employer shall notify in writing to the
Secretary of State that the employer has certified the removal
of the offending school bus driver from service prior to the
start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An employing
school board that fails to remove the offending school bus
driver from service is subject to the penalties defined in
Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus contractor who
violates a provision of this Section is subject to the
penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
    All valid school bus driver permits issued under this
Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective until
their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
    (h) When a school bus driver permit holder who is a service
member is called to active duty, the employer of the permit
holder shall notify the Secretary of State, within 30 days of
notification from the permit holder, that the permit holder has
been called to active duty. Upon notification pursuant to this
subsection, (i) the Secretary of State shall characterize the
permit as inactive until a permit holder renews the permit as
provided in subsection (i) of this Section, and (ii) if a
permit holder fails to comply with the requirements of this
Section while called to active duty, the Secretary of State
shall not characterize the permit as invalid.
    (i) A school bus driver permit holder who is a service
member returning from active duty must, within 90 days, renew a
permit characterized as inactive pursuant to subsection (h) of
this Section by complying with the renewal requirements of
subsection (b) of this Section.
    (j) For purposes of subsections (h) and (i) of this
Section:
    "Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive
order of the President of the United States, an act of the
Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor.
    "Service member" means a member of the Armed Services or
reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Illinois
National Guard.
(Source: P.A. 96-89, eff. 7-27-09; 96-818, eff. 11-17-09;
96-962, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1182, eff.
7-22-10; revised 9-2-10.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-106.11)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.11)
    Sec. 6-106.11. (a) Any individual, corporation,
partnership or association, who through contractual
arrangements with a school district transports students,
teachers or other personnel of that district for compensation,
shall not permit any person to operate a school bus or any
first division vehicle including taxis when used for a purpose
that requires a school bus driver permit pursuant to that
contract if the driver has not complied with the provisions of
Sections 6-106.1 of this Code or such other rules or
regulations that the Secretary of State may prescribe for the
classification, restriction or licensing of school bus driver
permit holders drivers.
    (a-5) Any individual, corporation, partnership,
association, or entity that has a contractual arrangement
referred to in subsection (a) of this Section must provide the
school district with (i) the names of all drivers who will be
operating a vehicle requiring a school bus driver permit
pursuant to the contract with the school district; and (ii) a
copy of each driver's school bus driver permit. Upon
notification by the Secretary of State to the employer of the
school bus driver permit holder that an employee's school bus
driver permit has been suspended or cancelled, the employer
must notify the school district of the suspension or
cancellation within 2 business days.
    (a-10) An individual, corporation, partnership,
association, or entity that has a contractual arrangement
referred to in subsection (a) of this Section may not:
        (i) utilize a vehicle in the performance of the
    contract that has previously been in salvage or junk
    status; or
        (ii) allow smoking in a vehicle while the vehicle is in
    the performance of the contract.
    (b) A violation of this Section is a business offense and
shall subject the offender to a fine of no less than $1,000 nor
more than $10,000 for a first offense, no less than $1,500 nor
more than $15,000 for a second offense, and no less than $2,000
nor more than $20,000 for a third or subsequent offense. In
addition to any fines imposed under this subsection, any
offender who has been convicted three times under the
provisions of subsection (a) shall, upon a fourth or subsequent
conviction be prohibited from transporting or contracting to
transport students, teachers or other personnel of a school
district for a period of five years beginning with the date of
conviction of such fourth or subsequent conviction.
(Source: P.A. 83-1286.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-106.12 new)
    Sec. 6-106.12. Contracts requiring school bus driver
permits.
    (a) No school district that contracts with any individual,
corporation, partnership, association, or other entity to
transport students, teachers, or other personnel of that
district for compensation shall permit any person to operate a
vehicle that requires a school bus driver permit pursuant to
that contract if the driver has not complied with the
provisions of Section 6-106.1 of this Code and other
administrative rules governing the classification,
restriction, or licensing of persons required to hold a school
bus driver permit.
    (b) A school district that has a contract of the type
described in subsection (a) of this Section shall maintain a
copy of the school bus driver permit of any person operating a
vehicle that requires a school bus permit.
 
    (625 ILCS 5/12-707.01)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-707.01)
    Sec. 12-707.01. Liability insurance. No school bus, first
division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose
that requires a school bus driver permit, commuter van or motor
vehicle owned by or used for hire by and in connection with the
operation of private or public schools, day camps, summer camps
or nursery schools, and no commuter van or passenger car used
for a for-profit ridesharing arrangement, shall be operated for
such purposes unless the owner thereof shall carry a minimum of
personal injury liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000
$25,000 for any one person in any one accident, and subject to
the limit for one person, $5,000,000 $100,000 for two or more
persons injured by reason of the operation of the vehicle in
any one accident.
(Source: P.A. 83-1091.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/13-101)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-101)
    Sec. 13-101. Submission to safety test; Certificate of
safety. To promote the safety of the general public, every
owner of a second division vehicle, medical transport vehicle,
tow truck, first division vehicle including a taxi which is
used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, or
contract carrier transporting employees in the course of their
employment on a highway of this State in a vehicle designed to
carry 15 or fewer passengers shall, before operating the
vehicle upon the highways of Illinois, submit it to a "safety
test" and secure a certificate of safety furnished by the
Department as set forth in Section 13-109. Each second division
motor vehicle that pulls or draws a trailer, semitrailer or
pole trailer, with a gross weight of more than 8,000 lbs or is
registered for a gross weight of more than 8,000 lbs, motor
bus, religious organization bus, school bus, senior citizen
transportation vehicle, and limousine shall be subject to
inspection by the Department and the Department is authorized
to establish rules and regulations for the implementation of
such inspections.
    The owners of each salvage vehicle shall submit it to a
"safety test" and secure a certificate of safety furnished by
the Department prior to its salvage vehicle inspection pursuant
to Section 3-308 of this Code. In implementing and enforcing
the provisions of this Section, the Department and other
authorized State agencies shall do so in a manner that is not
inconsistent with any applicable federal law or regulation so
that no federal funding or support is jeopardized by the
enactment or application of these provisions.
    However, none of the provisions of Chapter 13 requiring
safety tests or a certificate of safety shall apply to:
        (a) farm tractors, machinery and implements, wagons,
    wagon-trailers or like farm vehicles used primarily in
    agricultural pursuits;
        (b) vehicles other than school buses, tow trucks and
    medical transport vehicles owned or operated by a municipal
    corporation or political subdivision having a population
    of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants and which are subject to
    safety tests imposed by local ordinance or resolution;
        (c) a semitrailer or trailer having a gross weight of
    5,000 pounds or less including vehicle weight and maximum
    load;
        (d) recreational vehicles;
        (e) vehicles registered as and displaying Illinois
    antique vehicle plates;
        (f) house trailers equipped and used for living
    quarters;
        (g) vehicles registered as and displaying Illinois
    permanently mounted equipment plates or similar vehicles
    eligible therefor but registered as governmental vehicles
    provided that if said vehicle is reclassified from a
    permanently mounted equipment plate so as to lose the
    exemption of not requiring a certificate of safety, such
    vehicle must be safety tested within 30 days of the
    reclassification;
        (h) vehicles owned or operated by a manufacturer,
    dealer or transporter displaying a special plate or plates
    as described in Chapter 3 of this Code while such vehicle
    is being delivered from the manufacturing or assembly plant
    directly to the purchasing dealership or distributor, or
    being temporarily road driven for quality control testing,
    or from one dealer or distributor to another, or are being
    moved by the most direct route from one location to another
    for the purpose of installing special bodies or equipment,
    or driven for purposes of demonstration by a prospective
    buyer with the dealer or his agent present in the cab of
    the vehicle during the demonstration;
        (i) pole trailers and auxiliary axles;
        (j) special mobile equipment;
        (k) vehicles properly registered in another State
    pursuant to law and displaying a valid registration plate,
    except vehicles of contract carriers transporting
    employees in the course of their employment on a highway of
    this State in a vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer
    passengers are only exempted to the extent that the safety
    testing requirements applicable to such vehicles in the
    state of registration are no less stringent than the safety
    testing requirements applicable to contract carriers that
    are lawfully registered in Illinois;
        (l) water-well boring apparatuses or rigs;
        (m) any vehicle which is owned and operated by the
    federal government and externally displays evidence of
    such ownership; and
        (n) second division vehicles registered for a gross
    weight of 8,000 pounds or less, except when such second
    division motor vehicles pull or draw a trailer,
    semi-trailer or pole trailer having a gross weight of or
    registered for a gross weight of more than 8,000 pounds;
    motor buses; religious organization buses; school buses;
    senior citizen transportation vehicles; medical transport
    vehicles and tow trucks.
    The safety test shall include the testing and inspection of
brakes, lights, horns, reflectors, rear vision mirrors,
mufflers, safety chains, windshields and windshield wipers,
warning flags and flares, frame, axle, cab and body, or cab or
body, wheels, steering apparatus, and other safety devices and
appliances required by this Code and such other safety tests as
the Department may by rule or regulation require, for second
division vehicles, school buses, medical transport vehicles,
tow trucks, first division vehicles including taxis which are
used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit,
vehicles designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers operated by a
contract carrier transporting employees in the course of their
employment on a highway of this State, trailers, and
semitrailers subject to inspection.
    For tow trucks, the safety test and inspection shall also
include the inspection of winch mountings, body panels, body
mounts, wheel lift swivel points, and sling straps, and other
tests and inspections the Department by rule requires for tow
trucks.
    For trucks, truck tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, and
buses, and first division vehicles including taxis which are
used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit,
the safety test shall be conducted in accordance with the
Minimum Periodic Inspection Standards promulgated by the
Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of
Transportation and contained in Appendix G to Subchapter B of
Chapter III of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Those standards, as now in effect, are made a part of this
Code, in the same manner as though they were set out in full in
this Code.
    The passing of the safety test shall not be a bar at any
time to prosecution for operating a second division vehicle,
medical transport vehicle, or vehicle designed to carry 15 or
fewer passengers operated by a contract carrier as provided in
this Section which is unsafe as determined by the standards
prescribed in this Code.
(Source: P.A. 92-108, eff. 1-1-02; 93-637, eff. 6-1-04.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/13-109)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 13-109)
    Sec. 13-109. Safety test prior to application for license -
Subsequent tests - Repairs - Retest.
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in Chapter 13, each second
division vehicle, first division vehicle including a taxi which
is used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit,
and medical transport vehicle, except those vehicles other than
school buses or medical transport vehicles owned or operated by
a municipal corporation or political subdivision having a
population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants which are subjected
to safety tests imposed by local ordinance or resolution,
operated in whole or in part over the highways of this State,
and each vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers
operated by a contract carrier transporting employees in the
course of their employment on a highway of this State, shall be
subjected to the safety test provided for in Chapter 13 of this
Code. Tests shall be conducted at an official testing station
within 6 months prior to the application for registration as
provided for in this Code. Subsequently each vehicle shall be
subject to tests at least every 6 months, and in the case of
school buses and first division vehicles including taxis which
are used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver
permit, at least every 6 months or 10,000 miles whichever
occurs first, and according to schedules established by rules
and regulations promulgated by the Department. Any component
subject to regular inspection which is damaged in a reportable
accident must be reinspected before the bus or first division
vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose that
requires a school bus driver permit is returned to service.
    (b) The Department shall also conduct periodic
nonscheduled inspections of school buses, of buses registered
as charitable vehicles and of religious organization buses. If
such inspection reveals that a vehicle is not in substantial
compliance with the rules promulgated by the Department, the
Department shall remove the Certificate of Safety from the
vehicle, and shall place the vehicle out-of-service. A bright
orange, triangular decal shall be placed on an out-of-service
vehicle where the Certificate of Safety has been removed. The
vehicle must pass a safety test at an official testing station
before it is again placed in service.
    (c) If the violation is not substantial a bright yellow,
triangular sticker shall be placed next to the Certificate of
Safety at the time the nonscheduled inspection is made. The
Department shall reinspect the vehicle after 3 working days to
determine that the violation has been corrected and remove the
yellow, triangular decal. If the violation is not corrected
within 3 working days, the Department shall place the vehicle
out-of-service in accordance with procedures in subsection
(b).
    (d) If a violation is not substantial and does not directly
affect the safe operation of the vehicle, the Department shall
issue a warning notice requiring correction of the violation.
Such correction shall be accomplished as soon as practicable
and a report of the correction shall be made to the Department
within 30 days in a manner established by the Department. If
the Department has not been advised that the corrections have
been made, and the violations still exist, the Department shall
place the vehicle out-of-service in accordance with procedures
in subsection (b).
    (e) The Department is authorized to promulgate regulations
to implement its program of nonscheduled inspections. Causing
or allowing the operation of an out-of-service vehicle with
passengers or unauthorized removal of an out-of-service
sticker is a Class 3 felony. Causing or allowing the operation
of a vehicle with a 3-day sticker for longer than 3 days with
the sticker attached or the unauthorized removal of a 3-day
sticker is a Class C misdemeanor.
    (f) If a second division vehicle, first division vehicle
including a taxi which is used for a purpose that requires a
school bus driver permit, medical transport vehicle, or vehicle
operated by a contract carrier as provided in subsection (a) of
this Section is in safe mechanical condition, as determined
pursuant to Chapter 13, the operator of the official testing
station must at once issue to the second division vehicle,
first division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a
purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, or medical
transport vehicle a certificate of safety, in the form and
manner prescribed by the Department, which shall be affixed to
the vehicle by the certified safety tester who performed the
safety tests. The owner of the second division vehicle, first
division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose
that requires a school bus driver permit, or medical transport
vehicle or the contract carrier shall at all times display the
Certificate of Safety on the second division vehicle, first
division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose
that requires a school bus driver permit, medical transport
vehicle, or vehicle operated by a contract carrier in the
manner prescribed by the Department.
    (g) If a test shows that a second division vehicle, first
division vehicle including a taxi which is used for a purpose
that requires a school bus driver permit, medical transport
vehicle, or vehicle operated by a contract carrier is not in
safe mechanical condition as provided in this Section, it shall
not be operated on the highways until it has been repaired and
submitted to a retest at an official testing station. If the
owner or contract carrier submits the vehicle to a retest at a
different official testing station from that where it failed to
pass the first test, he or she shall present to the operator of
the second station the report of the original test, and shall
notify the Department in writing, giving the name and address
of the original testing station and the defects which prevented
the issuance of a Certificate of Safety, and the name and
address of the second official testing station making the
retest.
(Source: P.A. 92-108, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.