August 18, 2015
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
99th General Assembly:
Today I return
Senate Bill 1885 with specific recommendations for change.
First, this
bill attempts to clarify that passing a stopped school bus is unlawful, whether
it occurs on a public street or on public school property. Current law already
provides that passing a stopped school bus “at any location” is unlawful.
Nonetheless, at least one judge in Illinois has misinterpreted the intent of
Public Act 93-180, which replaced a statutory reference to “school property”
with the reference to “any location.”
Unfortunately,
the manner in which this bill attempts to clarify the statute could be itself
misinterpreted to classify roadways on public school property as
“non-designated highways”, which is not the intent. The changes recommended
below would make clear that passing a stopped school bus on public school
property is unlawful, without changing the definition of “non-designated
highways”.
Second, this bill
permits a person to operate a farm tractor for farm operations on a highway
without a driver’s license or permit. I support that provision.
However, the
bill would also allow a person whose license has been suspended or revoked,
such as following a conviction for driving under the influence, to operate a
road machine (e.g., a heavy piece of road construction machinery) or a farm
tractor on a public highway without a license or permit. That change is
unnecessary and could jeopardize public safety. Illinois law already includes
appropriate remedies for obtaining a restricted permit following the suspension
or revocation of a license.
Therefore,
pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I
hereby return Senate Bill 1885, entitled “AN ACT concerning transportation”,
with the following specific recommendations for change:
On
page 1, by replacing line 5 with “Sections 6-102 and 11-1414 as follows:”; and
On
page 1, by deleting lines 6 through 23; and
On
page 2, by deleting lines 1 through 2; and
On
page 4, by deleting lines 11 through 25; and
By
deleting pages 5 through 15; and
On
page 16, by deleting lines 1 through 23; and
On
page 17, by replacing lines 2 through 12 with the following:
“(a)
The driver of a vehicle shall stop such vehicle before meeting or overtaking,
from either direction, any school bus stopped on a highway, on a roadway, on
school property, upon a private road, in a parking lot, or at any other
location (including, without limitation, at a location that is not on a
highway or roadway) for the purpose of receiving or discharging pupils. Such
stop is required before reaching the school bus when there is in operation on
the school bus the visual signals as specified in Sections 12-803 and 12-805 of
this Code. The driver of the vehicle shall not proceed until the school bus resumes
motion or the driver of the vehicle is signaled by the school bus driver to
proceed or the visual signals are no longer actuated.”
With these
changes, Senate Bill 1885 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR