Pre-filing begins for 2017 general session, first proposal seeks to put seat belts on school buses

As pre-filing for new bills and resolutions for the upcoming 91st General Assembly began Tuesday (Nov. 15), Rep. Mark McElroy, D-Tillar, had the honor of submitting the first legislative proposal nearly 55 days ahead of the 2017 general session.

McElroy’s House Bill (HB) 1002, if enacted, would require new larger school buses purchased in Arkansas after January 2018 to be equipped with seat belts or some other type of passenger restraint system. Although McElroy said the bill may have some difficulty getting out of committee in the upcoming budget-restrained session, he said he wanted to file his bill to make people aware of an emerging safety concern for school-age children.

“It is just a matter of time that a kid will get killed on a school bus, and then we will decide to do something about,” said McElroy, adding that a seat belt saved one of his grandchildren involved in an automobile accident.
According to recent data from National Conference of State Legislatures, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Texas have passed some variation of a seat belt law for school buses, but funding has not been appropriated in some states.

A year ago, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Dr. Mark Rosekind said the addition of a three-point seat belt technology in school buses would “take safety to a new level,” but the Obama administration has thus far not adopted a federal mandate for such a law.

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In 2008, NHTSA announced a rule change that now requires new school buses of 10,000 pounds or less to have lap-shoulder belts. The rule also requires increasing the height of seat backs from 20 inches to 24 inches and allows states or local jurisdictions to decide whether to install seat belts on larger school buses over the 10,000-pound weight limit.

Seat belts have been required on passenger cars since 1968. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws requiring the wearing of seat belts in passenger cars and light trucks. However, because of these different crash forces experienced by occupants of buses, compared to passenger cars and light trucks, NHTSA has decided that the best way to provide crash protection to passengers of large school buses is through a concept called “compartmentalization.”

This requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection such that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Through compartmentalization, occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs, NHTSA officials said.

Although he did not introduce similar legislation in the 2015 general session, McElroy has advocated for legislation requiring seat belts for large school buses in past House panel hearings at the State Capitol.

In September 2015 during a House Education committee meeting, McElroy showed lawmakers a graphic video of students being jostled and thrown out of school buses after an accident. But, some lawmakers appeared more troubled by the fact school districts would have to bear the cost of installing seat belts or other restraint systems in school buses, which range in cost from $5,000 to $12,000 per vehicle, House committee minutes show.

McElroy said his bill would not be a legislative dictate, but would allow citizens in each Arkansas school district to petition their local school board to place a referendum on the ballot earmarking a millage tax for seat belts on school buses.

“This is not a mandate. It will be left up to local school districts to decide how to pay for equipping each school bus,” the Delta Democrat said. “And we have found that over the life of a new school bus that will last 15 to 17 years, the cost comes out to about $5 per child each year.”

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In addition to McElroy’s legislation, Sen. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, also filed legislation on the first day of pre-filing that would create an income tax exemption for retired military veterans and surviving family members. HB 1003, also lists Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas, as a co-sponsor.

In the 2015 session, a similar controversial bill supported by Fite and Baltz failed to move out of committee after Gov. Hutchinson argued there was no room in the budget for such proposal, along with his $103 million tax cut. That legislation, which had more than 40 co-sponsors and a price tag of more than $16 million, died in the House Tax and Revenue committee at Sine Die adjournment.

If Fite’s bill ends up in the House Revenue and Tax committee, it would also likely find some difficultly moving out of the lower chamber panel where House Democrats now have a 11-9 majority. Still, House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, has the option of assigning both HB 1002 and 1003 to other House panels for consideration.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has proposed a another $50 million tax cut for the 2017 session, has also indicated in his budget proposal last week that any new spending measures would need to be offset by other budget cuts or by eliminating further tax breaks.

“It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to know that we can’t say ‘yes’ to every spending need, and we should also not say yes to every tax cut idea,” Hutchinson said on Nov. 9.

According to the Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, November and December are the busiest months for pre-filing bills with 24 states accepting proposals in the last two months of 2016 in advance of 2017 legislative sessions. Arkansas is also one of 37 states that allows for legislation to be pre-filed ahead before a regular session convenes.

The Arkansas Legislature’s pre-filing process allows bills to be prepared and introduced before the 2017 session convenes, which gives legislative staff more time to draft bills. For example, the paperwork that is necessary for a bill’s official introduction – such as gathering sponsor signatures – can be completed early.

In the Arkansas House, the filing process is simple and efficient, allowing the sponsoring lawmaker to hand-deliver the legislation to the clerk to minimize the possibility of error. The House begins its bill-numbering system with 1001 and the Senate begins with 1.

Since Oct. 11, the Arkansas Legislative Council and the Joint Budget Committee have held hearings on the budget requests from state agencies and institutions for the 2017-2019 biennium. The 91st general session will officially begin at noon on Jan. 9, 2017.