Public Act 096-0818
 
SB0932 Enrolled LRB096 07041 AJT 17127 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Sections 6-106.1, 12-813.1, and 12-816 and by adding Section
12-811.5 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-106.1)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1)
    Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
    (a) The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus driver
permit to those applicants who have met all the requirements of
the application and screening process under this Section to
insure the welfare and safety of children who are transported
on school buses throughout the State of Illinois. Applicants
shall obtain the proper application required by the Secretary
of State from their prospective or current employer and submit
the completed application to the prospective or current
employer along with the necessary fingerprint submission as
required by the Department of State Police to conduct
fingerprint based criminal background checks on current and
future information available in the state system and current
information available through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's system. Applicants who have completed the
fingerprinting requirements shall not be subjected to the
fingerprinting process when applying for subsequent permits or
submitting proof of successful completion of the annual
refresher course. Individuals who on the effective date of this
Act possess a valid school bus driver permit that has been
previously issued by the appropriate Regional School
Superintendent are not subject to the fingerprinting
provisions of this Section as long as the permit remains valid
and does not lapse. The applicant shall be required to pay all
related application and fingerprinting fees as established by
rule including, but not limited to, the amounts established by
the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to process fingerprint based criminal background
investigations. All fees paid for fingerprint processing
services under this Section shall be deposited into the State
Police Services Fund for the cost incurred in processing the
fingerprint based criminal background investigations. All
other fees paid under this Section shall be deposited into the
Road Fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of the
Secretary of State in administering this Section. All
applicants must:
        1. be 21 years of age or older;
        2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
    license issued by the Secretary of State;
        3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not been
    revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years immediately
    prior to the date of application, or have not had his or
    her commercial motor vehicle driving privileges
    disqualified within the 3 years immediately prior to the
    date of application;
        4. successfully pass a written test, administered by
    the Secretary of State, on school bus operation, school bus
    safety, and special traffic laws relating to school buses
    and submit to a review of the applicant's driving habits by
    the Secretary of State at the time the written test is
    given;
        5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care in
    the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
    promulgated by the Secretary of State;
        6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
    buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
    including tests for drug use for each applicant not subject
    to such testing pursuant to federal law, conducted by a
    licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse who has a
    written collaborative agreement with a collaborating
    physician which authorizes him or her to perform medical
    examinations, or a physician assistant who has been
    delegated the performance of medical examinations by his or
    her supervising physician within 90 days of the date of
    application according to standards promulgated by the
    Secretary of State;
        7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she has
    not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
    material fact in any application for permit;
        8. have completed an initial classroom course,
    including first aid procedures, in school bus driver safety
    as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and after
    satisfactory completion of said initial course an annual
    refresher course; such courses and the agency or
    organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
    the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
    refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
    permit until such course is completed;
        9. not have been convicted of 2 or more serious traffic
    offenses, as defined by rule, within one year prior to the
    date of application that may endanger the life or safety of
    any of the driver's passengers within the duration of the
    permit period;
        10. not have been convicted of reckless driving,
    driving while intoxicated, or reckless homicide resulting
    from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of the
    date of application;
        11. not have been convicted of committing or attempting
    to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i)
    those offenses defined in Sections 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1,
    9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6,
    10-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16,
    11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1,
    11-21, 11-22, 12-3.1, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-4.4,
    12-4.5, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-11,
    12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-16.2, 12-21.5,
    12-21.6, 12-33, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1,
    20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-3.3, 31A-1, 31A-1.1, and
    33A-2, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b), clause
    (1), of Section 12-4 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii)
    those offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except
    those offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of
    Section 4, and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis
    Control Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois
    Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in
    the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act;
    (v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state
    or against the laws of the United States, which if
    committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as
    one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses
    defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children
    Act and (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of the
    Liquor Control Act of 1934;
        12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver in
    motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted of
    offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
    movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
    ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
    safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
    traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
    highway;
        13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a motor
    vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death of any
    person; and
        14. not have, within the last 5 years, been adjudged to
    be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability
    or disease.
    (b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a period
specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by rule. It
shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection (a) of this
Section.
    (c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the holder's
driver's license number, legal name, residence address, zip
code, social security number and date of birth, a brief
description of the holder and a space for signature. The
Secretary of State may require a suitable photograph of the
holder.
    (d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver
candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and submitting
the applicant's fingerprint cards to the Department of State
Police that are required for the criminal background
investigations. The employer shall certify in writing to the
Secretary of State that all pre-employment conditions have been
successfully completed including the successful completion of
an Illinois specific criminal background investigation through
the Department of State Police and the submission of necessary
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
criminal history information available through the Federal
Bureau of Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
submitting the school bus driver permit application.
    (e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon receiving
certification from the employer that all pre-employment
conditions have been successfully completed, and upon
successful completion of all training and examination
requirements for the classification of the vehicle to be
operated, the Secretary of State shall provisionally issue a
School Bus Driver Permit. The permit shall remain in a
provisional status pending the completion of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation's criminal background investigation based
upon fingerprinting specimens submitted to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation by the Department of State Police. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall report the findings directly to
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall remove the
bus driver permit from provisional status upon the applicant's
successful completion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
criminal background investigation.
    (f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is convicted
in another state of an offense that would make him or her
ineligible for a permit under subsection (a) of this Section.
The written notification shall be made within 5 days of the
entry of the conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for a
first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
subsequent violation.
    (g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
        (1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit of an applicant whose criminal background
    investigation discloses that he or she is not in compliance
    with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
        (2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
    permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
    Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
    this Section.
        (3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
    driver permit if the permit holder's restricted commercial
    or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn or
    otherwise invalidated.
        (4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school bus
    driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant who
    fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
    required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
    under federal law.
        (5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend a
    school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon
    receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
    negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
    subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
        (6) The Secretary of State shall suspend a school bus
    driver permit for a period of 3 years upon receiving notice
    from the employer that the holder failed to perform the
    inspection procedure set forth in subsection (a) or (b) of
    Section 12-816 of this Code.
    The Secretary of State shall notify the State
Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1) has
failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no longer
eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the related
cancellation of the applicant's provisional school bus driver
permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect pending the
outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118 of this Code.
The scope of the hearing shall be limited to the issuance
criteria contained in subsection (a) of this Section. A
petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the individual
feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver permit. The
permit holder's employer shall notify in writing to the
Secretary of State that the employer has certified the removal
of the offending school bus driver from service prior to the
start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An employing
school board that fails to remove the offending school bus
driver from service is subject to the penalties defined in
Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus contractor who
violates a provision of this Section is subject to the
penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
    All valid school bus driver permits issued under this
Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective until
their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
(Source: P.A. 93-895, eff. 1-1-05; 94-556, eff. 9-11-05.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/12-813.1)
    Sec. 12-813.1. School bus driver communication devices.
Operation of a school bus while using a cellular radio
telecommunication device.
    (a) In this Section:
    "School bus driver" means a person operating a school bus
who has a valid school bus driver permit as required under
Sections 6-104 and 6-106.1 of this Code.
    "Cellular radio telecommunication device" means a device
capable of sending or receiving telephone communications
without an access line for service and which requires the
operator to dial numbers manually. It does not, however,
include citizens band radios or citizens band radio hybrids.
    "Possession of a school bus" means the period of time from
which a bus driver takes possession until the school bus driver
returns possession of the school bus, whether or not the school
bus driver is operating the school bus.
    "Using a cellular radio telecommunication device" means
talking or listening to or dialing a cellular radio
telecommunication device.
    To "operate" means to have the vehicle in motion while it
contains one or more passengers.
    (b) A school bus driver may not operate a school bus while
using a cellular radio telecommunication device.
    (c) Subsection (b) of this This Section does not apply:
        (1) To the use of a cellular radio telecommunication
    device for the purpose of communicating with any of the
    following regarding an emergency situation:
            (A) an emergency response operator;
            (B) a hospital;
            (C) a physician's office or health clinic;
            (D) an ambulance service;
            (E) a fire department, fire district, or fire
        company; or
            (F) a police department.
        (2) To the use of a cellular radio telecommunication
    device to call for assistance in the event that there is a
    mechanical breakdown or other mechanical problem that
    impairs the safe operation of the bus.
        (3) To the use of a cellular radio telecommunication
    device that has a digital two-way radio service capability
    owned and operated by the school district, when that device
    is being used as a digital two-way radio.
        (4) When the school bus is parked.
    (d) A school bus driver who violates subsection (b) of this
Section is guilty of a petty offense punishable by a fine of
not less than $100 and not more than $250.
    (e) A school bus must contain an operating two-way radio
while the school bus driver is in possession of a school bus.
The two-way radio in this subsection must be turned on and
adjusted in a manner that would alert the school bus driver of
an incoming communication request.
(Source: P.A. 92-730, eff. 1-1-03.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/12-816)
    Sec. 12-816. Pre and post-trip Post-trip inspection policy
for school buses.
    (a) In order to provide for the welfare and safety of
children who are transported on school buses throughout the
State of Illinois, each school district shall have in place, by
January 1, 2008, a policy to ensure that the school bus driver
is the last person leaving the bus and that no passenger is
left behind or remains on the vehicle at the end of a route, a
work shift, or the work day. This policy and procedure shall,
at a minimum, require the school bus driver (i) to test the
two-way radio and ensure that it is functioning properly before
the bus is operated and (ii) before leaving the bus at the end
of each route, work shift, or work day, to walk to the rear of
the bus and check the bus for children or other passengers in
the bus.
    (b) If a school district has a contract with a private
sector school bus company for the transportation of the
district's students, the school district shall require in the
contract with the private sector company that the company have
a post-trip inspection policy in place. This policy and
procedure shall, at a minimum, require the school bus driver
(i) to test the two-way radio and ensure that it is functioning
properly before the bus is operated and (ii) , before leaving
the bus at the end of each route, work shift, or work day, to
walk to the rear of the bus and check the bus for children or
other passengers in the bus in and under each seat for sleeping
children.
    (c) Before this inspection, the school bus driver shall
activate the interior lights of the bus to assist the driver in
seeing in and under the seats during a visual sweep of the bus.
    (d) This policy may include, at the discretion of the
school district, the installation of a mechanical or electronic
post-trip inspection reminder system which requires the school
bus driver to walk to the rear of the bus to deactivate the
system before the driver leaves the bus. The system shall
require that when the driver turns off the vehicle's ignition
system, the vehicle's interior lights must illuminate to assist
the driver in seeing in and under the seats during a visual
sweep of the bus.
(Source: P.A. 95-260, eff. 8-17-07.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.