96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB0943

 

Introduced 2/6/2009, by Sen. John J. Cullerton

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
625 ILCS 5/6-106.1   from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1

    Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning school bus driver permits.


LRB096 07055 AJT 17141 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB0943 LRB096 07055 AJT 17141 b

1     AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
5 Section 6-106.1 as follows:
 
6     (625 ILCS 5/6-106.1)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1)
7     Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
8     (a) The The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus
9 driver permit to those applicants who have met all the
10 requirements of the application and screening process under
11 this Section to insure the welfare and safety of children who
12 are transported on school buses throughout the State of
13 Illinois. Applicants shall obtain the proper application
14 required by the Secretary of State from their prospective or
15 current employer and submit the completed application to the
16 prospective or current employer along with the necessary
17 fingerprint submission as required by the Department of State
18 Police to conduct fingerprint based criminal background checks
19 on current and future information available in the state system
20 and current information available through the Federal Bureau of
21 Investigation's system. Applicants who have completed the
22 fingerprinting requirements shall not be subjected to the
23 fingerprinting process when applying for subsequent permits or

 

 

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1 submitting proof of successful completion of the annual
2 refresher course. Individuals who on the effective date of this
3 Act possess a valid school bus driver permit that has been
4 previously issued by the appropriate Regional School
5 Superintendent are not subject to the fingerprinting
6 provisions of this Section as long as the permit remains valid
7 and does not lapse. The applicant shall be required to pay all
8 related application and fingerprinting fees as established by
9 rule including, but not limited to, the amounts established by
10 the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
11 Investigation to process fingerprint based criminal background
12 investigations. All fees paid for fingerprint processing
13 services under this Section shall be deposited into the State
14 Police Services Fund for the cost incurred in processing the
15 fingerprint based criminal background investigations. All
16 other fees paid under this Section shall be deposited into the
17 Road Fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of the
18 Secretary of State in administering this Section. All
19 applicants must:
20         1. be 21 years of age or older;
21         2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
22     license issued by the Secretary of State;
23         3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not been
24     revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years immediately
25     prior to the date of application, or have not had his or
26     her commercial motor vehicle driving privileges

 

 

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1     disqualified within the 3 years immediately prior to the
2     date of application;
3         4. successfully pass a written test, administered by
4     the Secretary of State, on school bus operation, school bus
5     safety, and special traffic laws relating to school buses
6     and submit to a review of the applicant's driving habits by
7     the Secretary of State at the time the written test is
8     given;
9         5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care in
10     the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
11     promulgated by the Secretary of State;
12         6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
13     buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
14     including tests for drug use for each applicant not subject
15     to such testing pursuant to federal law, conducted by a
16     licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse who has a
17     written collaborative agreement with a collaborating
18     physician which authorizes him or her to perform medical
19     examinations, or a physician assistant who has been
20     delegated the performance of medical examinations by his or
21     her supervising physician within 90 days of the date of
22     application according to standards promulgated by the
23     Secretary of State;
24         7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she has
25     not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
26     material fact in any application for permit;

 

 

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1         8. have completed an initial classroom course,
2     including first aid procedures, in school bus driver safety
3     as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and after
4     satisfactory completion of said initial course an annual
5     refresher course; such courses and the agency or
6     organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
7     the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
8     refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
9     permit until such course is completed;
10         9. not have been convicted of 2 or more serious traffic
11     offenses, as defined by rule, within one year prior to the
12     date of application that may endanger the life or safety of
13     any of the driver's passengers within the duration of the
14     permit period;
15         10. not have been convicted of reckless driving,
16     driving while intoxicated, or reckless homicide resulting
17     from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of the
18     date of application;
19         11. not have been convicted of committing or attempting
20     to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i)
21     those offenses defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1,
22     9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6,
23     10-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16,
24     11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1,
25     11-21, 11-22, 12-3.1, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-4.4,
26     12-4.5, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-11,

 

 

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1     12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-16.2, 12-21.5,
2     12-21.6, 12-33, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1,
3     20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-3.3, 31A-1, 31A-1.1, and
4     33A-2, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b), clause
5     (1), of Section 12-4 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii)
6     those offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except
7     those offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of
8     Section 4, and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis
9     Control Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois
10     Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in
11     the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act;
12     (v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state
13     or against the laws of the United States, which if
14     committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as
15     one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses
16     defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children
17     Act and (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of the
18     Liquor Control Act of 1934;
19         12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver in
20     motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted of
21     offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
22     movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
23     ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
24     safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
25     traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
26     highway;

 

 

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1         13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a motor
2     vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death of any
3     person; and
4         14. not have, within the last 5 years, been adjudged to
5     be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability
6     or disease.
7     (b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a period
8 specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by rule. It
9 shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection (a) of this
10 Section.
11     (c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the holder's
12 driver's license number, legal name, residence address, zip
13 code, social security number and date of birth, a brief
14 description of the holder and a space for signature. The
15 Secretary of State may require a suitable photograph of the
16 holder.
17     (d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
18 pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver
19 candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
20 medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and submitting
21 the applicant's fingerprint cards to the Department of State
22 Police that are required for the criminal background
23 investigations. The employer shall certify in writing to the
24 Secretary of State that all pre-employment conditions have been
25 successfully completed including the successful completion of
26 an Illinois specific criminal background investigation through

 

 

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1 the Department of State Police and the submission of necessary
2 fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
3 criminal history information available through the Federal
4 Bureau of Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
5 certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
6 submitting the school bus driver permit application.
7     (e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon receiving
8 certification from the employer that all pre-employment
9 conditions have been successfully completed, and upon
10 successful completion of all training and examination
11 requirements for the classification of the vehicle to be
12 operated, the Secretary of State shall provisionally issue a
13 School Bus Driver Permit. The permit shall remain in a
14 provisional status pending the completion of the Federal Bureau
15 of Investigation's criminal background investigation based
16 upon fingerprinting specimens submitted to the Federal Bureau
17 of Investigation by the Department of State Police. The Federal
18 Bureau of Investigation shall report the findings directly to
19 the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall remove the
20 bus driver permit from provisional status upon the applicant's
21 successful completion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
22 criminal background investigation.
23     (f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
24 employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is convicted
25 in another state of an offense that would make him or her
26 ineligible for a permit under subsection (a) of this Section.

 

 

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1 The written notification shall be made within 5 days of the
2 entry of the conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
3 provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for a
4 first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
5 subsequent violation.
6     (g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
7         (1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
8     driver permit of an applicant whose criminal background
9     investigation discloses that he or she is not in compliance
10     with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
11         (2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
12     driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
13     permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
14     Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
15     this Section.
16         (3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
17     driver permit if the permit holder's restricted commercial
18     or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn or
19     otherwise invalidated.
20         (4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school bus
21     driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant who
22     fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
23     required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
24     under federal law.
25         (5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend a
26     school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon

 

 

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1     receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
2     negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
3     subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
4     The Secretary of State shall notify the State
5 Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
6 prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1) has
7 failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no longer
8 eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the related
9 cancellation of the applicant's provisional school bus driver
10 permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect pending the
11 outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118 of this Code.
12 The scope of the hearing shall be limited to the issuance
13 criteria contained in subsection (a) of this Section. A
14 petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted to the
15 Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the individual
16 feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver permit. The
17 permit holder's employer shall notify in writing to the
18 Secretary of State that the employer has certified the removal
19 of the offending school bus driver from service prior to the
20 start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An employing
21 school board that fails to remove the offending school bus
22 driver from service is subject to the penalties defined in
23 Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus contractor who
24 violates a provision of this Section is subject to the
25 penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
26     All valid school bus driver permits issued under this

 

 

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1 Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective until
2 their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
3 (Source: P.A. 93-895, eff. 1-1-05; 94-556, eff. 9-11-05.)