Amended version of Favors' mandatory school bus seat belt bill shifts full cost to state

Tennessee state Rep. JoAnne Favors visited the Times Free Press for a meeting with the editorial board at the newspaper's offices on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Chattanooga.
Tennessee state Rep. JoAnne Favors visited the Times Free Press for a meeting with the editorial board at the newspaper's offices on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Chattanooga.

NASHVILLE - Rep. JoAnne Favors' mandatory school bus seat belt legislation was amended in a House panel Tuesday afternoon to require state government to pick up the entire tab of paying costs for seat belts on new buses before it could take effect.

Government Operations Committee Chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, moved the amendment, saying he couldn't support a state mandate that costs the three poorer counties he represents to bear a share of the costs.

Favors, D-Chattanooga, who introduced the bill in response to last November's deadly Woodmore Elementary School bus crash that killed six children in Brainerd, had little choice but to accept the amendment to get the measure out of Faison's committee.

The bill, now carrying Faison's amendment, passed on a voice vote. It now goes to the House Budget Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, a co-sponsor of the bill.

"I was OK with it because it probably wouldn't have gone through with a recommendation without it," Favors later said of Faison's amendment.

She said she hopes to pare down the costs outlined in a legislative fiscal analysis even further. The lawmaker also said she wants the legislation "to be the best bill we can possibly have that is realistic, attainable and sustainable."

Favors' bill would require all new buses ordered or purchased by schools on July 1, 2019, to come equipped with safety restraint systems recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Faison later said the state should "absolutely" pick up the entire cost of adding seat belts on new buses.

"That's my whole intent," Favors said. "I don't want my local schools to have to pay for this. That's a substantial cost every time they buy a bus. If the state's going to mandate it, the state needs to pay for it."

Favors and others have estimated the additional costs at $6,000 to $8,000 per new bus if they come equipped with the three-point safety systems recommended by the NTSB.

But a legislative fiscal note says the standard $100,000 cost for a new bus would increase by $10,000. Faison said he's heard restraint systems can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per bus.

The fiscal note, meanwhile, says more buses would be needed because installation of the seat belts would decrease the number of seats in each bus. But proponents say Fiscal Review staff are overestimating the number of seats that would be lost and, thus requiring additional buses.

Favors' bill wound up in Government Operations Committee due to a provision requiring the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Tennessee Department of Safety, to promulgate rules to "effectuate the provisions of this section" in accordance with the state's Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Haslam Tuesday released his administration's major amendment to his proposed 2017-2018 state budget. The amendment accounts for a number of bills that have passed or are expected to pass this year's General Assembly.

But it makes no mention of Favors' still-pending bill. But Favors said that given the state's budget surplus, if her bill can get through the process, there's a good chance funding will come.

Haslam told reporters last week that his administration is now officially "deferred" on Favors' bill.

"Deferred means if they pass it, we'll sign it and figure out a way to fund it," the governor said. "But we're not actively engaged in that one. The proposal we made was the proposal that we obviously wanted to make certain would happen."

Haslam's bill avoided the seat belt issue entirely. Instead, it looks at various local failures and issues that led to the Nov. 21 crash of the Woodmore Elementary bus, driven under contract with Durham School Services.

Senators on Monday night took final action on Haslam's bill. It imposes new safety training and reporting requirements on public and charter schools with regard to school bus transportation.

For example, a local school system would have to have an official specifically tasked with transportation safety. Would-be drivers would have to take a state-approved course. The minimum age for drivers would rise from 21 to 25.

And buses would have to carry a telephone number for concerned citizens to call if they believe a driver is driving erratically.

The driver of the bus, Johnthony Walker, 24, was indicted on six counts of vehicular homicide and other charges. Students, parents and some educators say they had previously complained about his previous driving and treatment of children.

Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.

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