THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	71
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Requesting THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO PERFORM A STUDY TO SHOW THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, AND THE ADVISABILITY OF, MANDATING THE USE OF SEAT BELTS for minors IN EVERY SCHOOL BUS.

     WHEREAS, millions of children in the United States begin and end each day with a trip on a school bus; and

     WHEREAS, thousands of injuries to children occur each year involving school buses, sometimes ending with tragic fatalities; and

     WHEREAS, in a recent incident in Hawaii, a school bus and large dump truck collided in Kaimuki causing injury to twelve children; and

     WHEREAS, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act includes bus safety requirements and sets standards that require school buses to be structurally and mechanically safe and provides pedestrian and occupant safety; and

     WHEREAS, there is an increasing debate on the necessity of seat belts in school buses; however, the effects of installing seat belts are unknown; and

     WHEREAS, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the possible benefits of seat belts on school buses were insufficient for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to mandate the installation of seat belts on school buses; and

     WHEREAS, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that smaller children should "buckle up" and be secured in child passenger restraints on school buses; and

     WHEREAS, in the past, bills have been introduced in this Legislature to require public and private elementary school children to wear seat belts on school buses; and

     WHEREAS, last, and most important of all, the need to provide the maximum possible safety for children in school buses is of paramount importance, and it offers parents and families a sense of security that all necessary precautions were taken to ensure the safety of their children; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to perform a study that:

     (1)  Analyzes the issues associated with mandating that each school bus, private and public, be retrofitted with seat belts and reviews studies conducted to resolve these issues;

     (2)  Analyzes the costs of retrofitting school buses with seat belts; and

     (3)  Makes recommendations based on its findings, including suggested legislation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state Department of Transportation and the Department of Education are requested to assist the Legislative Reference Bureau with all relevant research and data as well as any other pertinent information and assistance; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature at least twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, Director of Transportation, President of the Hawaii Association of

Independent Schools, Director of the Hawaii Association of Charter Schools, and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Seat Belts; School Buses