Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB0150

Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a person may not drive a bus that has been chartered for the sole purpose of transporting students regularly enrolled in grade 12 or below to or from interscholastic athletic or interscholastic or school sponsored activities that does not meet specified requirements for school buses unless he or she has a commercial driver's license (CDL) with a school bus driver endorsement or a school bus driver permit. Establishes requirements for obtaining a CDL school bus driver endorsement. Provides that the requirement of a CDL with a school bus driver endorsement or a school bus driver permit does not apply to any bus driver employed by a public transportation provider meeting certain specifications. Provides that the Secretary of State may issue a school bus driver certificate to a person who possesses a CDL issued by another state and has demonstrated that he or she has met substantially equivalent requirements established by the Secretary for a school bus driver endorsement. Provides that the Secretary shall establish and maintain a registry of persons who have met the requirements of this provision. Provides that the Secretary shall adopt rules for implementing this provision. Effective immediately.

Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Deletes language providing that no person may drive a bus that has been chartered for the sole purpose of transporting students regularly enrolled in grade 12 or below to or from interscholastic athletic or interscholastic or school sponsored activities unless the person has a valid school bus driver permit in addition to any other permit or license that is required to operate that bus. Provides that a person may not drive a bus chartered for those purposes that does not meet specified requirements for school buses unless he or she has a commercial driver's license (CDL) with a school bus driver endorsement. Establishes requirements for obtaining a CDL school bus driver endorsement, including certain requirements that also pertain to school bus driver permits. Provides that the requirement of a CDL with a school bus driver endorsement (rather than of a school bus driver permit) does not apply to any bus driver employed by a public transportation provider authorized to conduct local or interurban transportation of passengers when the bus is not traveling a specific school bus route but is on a regularly scheduled route for the transportation of other fare paying passengers. Provides that a person may operate the type of chartered bus described if he or she is not disqualified from driving a chartered bus of that type and if he or she holds a CDL that is issued to him or her by any other state or jurisdiction in accordance with federal rules, is not suspended, revoked, or canceled, and is valid under federal rules for the type of vehicle being driven. Amends the School Code. Provides that the powers of school boards include the power to enter into contracts for this type of charter bus services. Provides that all contracts for these services must contain a clause that indicates whether or not all charter bus drivers providing services under the contract have the driver's license necessary to operate the type of bus that will provide the services, have submitted to fingerprinting and a criminal background check, and have submitted to a medical examination, including drug testing.

Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the amended bill, with an addition. Provides that a person may also operate the type of bus described if he or she holds a valid school bus driver permit that was issued on or before December 31, 2003.

Amends the School Code. Provides that any school district may enter into an intergovernmental agreement with a Mass Transit District, the RTA, a rural transportation program, or an Urban Transportation District for the transportation of pupils. Provides that the costs of these agreements are eligible for reimbursement by the State.

Provides that a person may operate a chartered bus of the type described if he or she holds a valid CDL and a valid school bus driver permit that was issued on or before December 31, 2003 (rather than if he or she holds a valid school bus driver permit that was issued on or before December 31, 2003).

Provides that the language of the required contract clause must indicate whether all charter bus drivers providing services under the contract have submitted their fingerprints to the Department of State Police, in the form and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police, to be checked against fingerprint records filed in the Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal History Records Databases. Provides that the Department of State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and may not exceed the actual cost of the records check.

×