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AB-830 Vehicles: transportation of school pupils.(2007-2008)

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Assembly Bill No. 830
CHAPTER 649

An act to amend Section 40081 of the Education Code, to add Section 5384.2 to the Public Utilities Code, to amend Sections 545 and 40000.11 of, and to add Section 12517.45 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

[ Approved by Governor  September 30, 2008. Filed with Secretary of State  September 30, 2008. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 830, Ma. Vehicles: transportation of school pupils.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to contract for the transportation of pupils attending schools within the district to and from specified activities and authorizes the governing board to pay for that transportation out of any funds of the district available for that purpose.
This bill would provide that a school, a school district, or the state would not be liable for transportation services provided by an operator of a charter-party carrier, as defined, for which the school or the school district has not contracted, arranged, or otherwise provided.
(2) Under existing law, the State Department of Education is required to develop or approve driver training courses for drivers of specified types of vehicles.
This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2010, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, to review and, if necessary, revise its training courses and requirements for drivers who operate specified charter-party carrier vehicles used for the transportation of pupils.
(3) Existing law provides for the issuance by the Department of Motor Vehicles of a certificate to drive specified types of vehicles, including a schoolbus or a school pupil activity bus and imposes specified requirements on a person who operates a schoolbus or a youth bus in the transportation of school pupils. Existing law specifically excludes specified motor vehicles from the definition of a schoolbus.
This bill would, in addition, exclude from the definition of schoolbus a motor vehicle designed to carry not more than 25 persons including the driver, while being used for the transportation of pupils to or from school-related activities if the vehicle is operated by a charter-party carrier not under a contractual agreement with a school or school district, and the transportation does not duplicate transportation services for pupils provided by the school or school district. The bill would prohibit a person from operating that type of motor vehicle unless that person has specified documents in his or her immediate possession and would require that person to perform specified duties. The bill would also require that vehicle to pass a specified annual inspection, and would allow the Department of the California Highway Patrol to charge a reasonable fee for that inspection.
(4) Under existing law, a violation of the Vehicle Code is an infraction, unless otherwise provided.
Because this bill would add provisions to the Vehicle Code, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 40081 of the Education Code is amended to read:

40081.
 (a) The department shall develop or approve courses for training school pupil activity bus (SPAB), transit bus, schoolbus, and farm labor vehicle drivers that will provide them with the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare them for certification pursuant to Sections 12517, 12519, and 12804.6 of the Vehicle Code. The department shall seek the advice and assistance of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol in developing or approving those courses.
(b) The department shall train or approve the necessary instructional personnel to conduct the driver training courses. For all schoolbus and school pupil activity bus (SPAB) driver instructor training, the department shall provide for and approve the course outline and lesson plans used in the course. For transit bus and farm labor vehicle driver training, the department shall approve the course outline and lesson plans used in the course.
(c) All courses of study and training activities required by this article shall be approved by the department and given by, or in the presence of, an instructor in possession of a valid school pupil activity bus (SPAB), transit bus, schoolbus, or farm labor vehicle driver instructor certificate of the appropriate class.
(d) As an alternative to subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), instructors who have received a certificate from the Transportation Safety Institute of the United States Department of Transportation indicating that they have completed the Mass Transit Instructor Orientation and Training (Train-the-Trainer) course may approve courses of instruction and train transit bus drivers in order to meet the requirements for certification pursuant to Section 12804.6 of the Vehicle Code.
(e) On or before January 1, 2010, the department, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall review and, if necessary, revise its training courses and requirements for drivers of vehicles described in subdivision (k) of Section 545 of the Vehicle Code. The review shall address the course content and the minimum number of hours required for classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training in order to ensure that drivers of those vehicles are trained in a manner that is appropriate for the type of vehicle they will be driving to transport pupils in a safe manner.

SEC. 2.

 Section 5384.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

A school, school district, or the state is not liable for transportation services provided by an operator of a charter-party carrier operating a motor vehicle as specified in subdivision (k) of Section 545 of the Vehicle Code for which the school or school district has not contracted, arranged, or otherwise provided.

SEC. 3.

 Section 545 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

545.
 A “schoolbus” is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of any school pupil at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school or to or from public or private school activities, except the following:
(a) A motor vehicle of any type carrying only members of the household of the owner of the vehicle.
(b) A motortruck transporting pupils who are seated only in the passenger compartment, or a passenger vehicle designed for and carrying not more than 10 persons, including the driver, unless the vehicle or truck is transporting two or more disabled pupils confined to wheelchairs.
(c) A motor vehicle operated by a common carrier, or by and under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or operated transit system, only during the time it is on a scheduled run and is available to the general public, or on a run scheduled in response to a request from a disabled pupil confined to a wheelchair, or from a parent of the disabled pupil, for transportation to or from nonschool activities, and the motor vehicle is designed for and actually carries not more than 16 persons including the driver, is available to eligible persons of the general public, and the school does not provide the requested transportation service.
(d) A school pupil activity bus.
(e) A motor vehicle operated by a carrier licensed by the Interstate Commerce Commission which is transporting pupils on a school activity entering or returning to the state from another state or country.
(f) A youth bus.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the governing board of a district maintaining a community college may, by resolution, designate any motor vehicle operated by or for the district, a schoolbus within the meaning of this section, if it is primarily used for the transportation of community college students to or from a public community college or to or from public community college activities. The designation shall not be effective until written notification thereof has been filed with the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(h) A state-owned motor vehicle being operated by a state employee upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or grounds specified in Section 21113 that are under the control of a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Developmental Services where the posted speed limit is not more than 20 miles per hour. The motor vehicle may also be operated for a distance of not more than one-quarter mile upon a public street or highway that runs through the grounds of a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Developmental Services, if the posted speed limit on the public street or highway is not more than 25 miles per hour and if all traffic is regulated by posted stop signs or official traffic control signals at the points of entry and exit by the motor vehicle.
(i) A general public paratransit vehicle, if the general public paratransit vehicle does not duplicate existing schoolbus service, does not transport a public school pupil at or below the 12th grade level to a destination outside of that pupil’s school district, and is not used to transport public school pupils in areas where schoolbus services were available during the 1986–87 school year. In areas where expanded school services require expanded transportation of public school pupils, as determined by the governing board of a school district, general public paratransit vehicles shall not be used to transport those pupils for a period of three years from the date that a need for expansion is identified. For purposes of this section, a pupil is defined as a student at or below the 12th grade level who is being transported to a mandated school activity.
(j) A schoolbus with the flashing red light signal system, the amber warning system, and the schoolbus signs covered, while being used for transportation of persons other than pupils, to or from school or school related activities.
(k) A motor vehicle, other than a motor vehicle described in subdivision (b), that is designed to carry not more than 25 persons including the driver, while being used for the transportation of pupils to or from school-related activities if the vehicle is operated by a passenger charter-party carrier certified and licensed by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code that is not under a contractual agreement with a school or school district, and the transportation does not duplicate schoolbus service or any other transportation services for pupils contracted, arranged, or otherwise provided by the school or school district.

SEC. 4.

 Section 12517.45 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

12517.45.
 (a) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle described in subdivision (k) of Section 545 while transporting school pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school or to or from public or private school activities, unless all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The person has in his or her immediate possession all of the following:
(A) A valid driver’s license of a class appropriate to the vehicle driven and that is endorsed for passenger transportation.
(B) Either a certificate to drive a schoolbus as described in Section 40082 of the Education Code, or a certificate to drive a school pupil activity bus as described in Section 40083 of the Education Code, issued by the department in accordance with eligibility and training requirements specified by the department, the State Department of Education, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(C) A parental authorization form for each pupil signed by a parent or a legal guardian of the pupil that gives permission for that pupil to be transported to or from the school or school-related activity.
(2) (A) The motor vehicle has passed an annual inspection conducted by the Department of the California Highway Patrol and is in compliance with the charter-party carrier’s responsibilities under Section 5374 of the Public Utilities Code.
(B) The Department of the California Highway Patrol may charge a charter-party carrier a reasonable fee sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the Department of the California Highway Patrol in conducting the annual inspection of a motor vehicle.
(b) A driver of a motor vehicle described in subdivision (k) of Section 545 shall comply with the duties specified in subdivision (a) of Section 5384.1 of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 5.

 Section 40000.11 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

40000.11.
 A violation of any of the following provisions is a misdemeanor, and not an infraction:
(a) Division 5 (commencing with Section 11100), relating to occupational licensing and business regulations.
(b) Section 12500, subdivision (a), relating to unlicensed drivers.
(c) Section 12515, subdivision (b), relating to persons under 21 years of age driving, and the employment of those persons to drive, vehicles engaged in interstate commerce or transporting hazardous substances or wastes.
(d) Section 12517, relating to a special driver’s certificate to operate a schoolbus or school pupil activity bus.
(e) Section 12517.45, relating to a special driver’s certificate and vehicle inspection for the transportation of pupils to or from school-related activities by a passenger charter-party carrier as defined in subdivision (k) of Section 545.
(f) Section 12519, subdivision (a), relating to a special driver’s certificate to operate a farm labor vehicle.
(g) Section 12520, relating to a special driver’s certificate to operate a tow truck.
(h) Section 12804, subdivision (d), relating to medical certificates.
(i) Section 12951, subdivision (b), relating to refusal to display license.
(j) Section 13004, relating to unlawful use of an identification card.
(k) Section 13004.1, relating to identification documents.
(l) Sections 14601, 14601.1, 14601.2, and 14601.5, relating to driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
(m) Section 14604, relating to unlawful use of a vehicle.
(n) Section 14610, relating to unlawful use of a driver’s license.
(o) Section 14610.1, relating to identification documents.
(p) Section 15501, relating to use of false or fraudulent license by a minor.

SEC. 6.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.