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House again approves
McCune’s school bus safety legislation
Graham lawmaker hopes bill does not meet the same
fate as last year
Rep. Jim McCune’s
legislation that would let school districts check the driving records of
current or prospective bus drivers free of charge, and notify districts
if a bus driver’s license is suspended or revoked, again passed
unanimously off the House floor on Jan. 30.
House Bill 2373 also passed off the House floor in the 2007
legislative session, but languished in the state Senate. McCune
is hopeful for a better outcome this year.
The inspiration for the bill came when McCune learned that some
school districts were unknowingly allowing their students to be
transported by school bus drivers who lacked valid driver’s licenses.
“The bottom line is this legislation will help ensure our children are
safer when riding to and from school in buses,” said McCune,
R-Graham. “It also assures parents that their children are being
transported safely by a person who has a good driving record."
The state employs almost 11,000 school bus drivers who transport around
450,000 children. Approximately 1,500 new drivers come on the job each
year due to turnover, and it costs school districts $5 to check a copy
of a school bus driver’s abstract. But because those record checks
typically happen just once a year, school bus drivers who lose their
licenses during the school year may not be detected.
“It is the responsibility of school bus drivers to report if their
license becomes suspended or revoked, but what we are seeing is that not
all of them are truthful in this process,” said McCune. “Allowing
school districts to ask for a school bus driver’s record at no cost, and
requiring the Department of Licensing to notify a district if a driver
loses his or her license, is worth the sixty thousand dollars it will
cost the state each year.”
McCune acknowledges and applauds all of the good, law-abiding
school bus drivers in the state.
“A vast majority of our school bus drivers are safe. But we should
strive for one-hundred percent when our children are involved,” said
McCune. “I encourage the Senate to pass my bill, and I’m hopeful it
will.”
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For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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