A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require passenger safety restraint systems be installed and used on new school buses operated by public or private schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑249A. Safety restraint systems on public school buses and public school activity buses.
(a)	Unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, all public school buses and public school activity buses purchased, leased, or contracted for use in North Carolina on or after July 1, 2008, and assigned to public schools, shall be equipped at all designated seating positions with a combination pelvic and upper torso passenger restraint system.
(b)	Local boards of education or school boards are encouraged to evaluate the cost and safety enhancement of installing passenger restraint systems on buses currently owned and operated by the boards. Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean a local board of education or school board is required to equip buses purchased before July 1, 2008, with passenger restraint systems.
(c)	For purposes of this section, a "passenger restraint system" means any of the following:
(1)	A restraint system that is in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209, for a type 2 seat belt assembly, and with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210, as those standards were in effect on the date the school bus was manufactured.
(2)	A restraint system certified by the school bus manufacturer that is in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 222 and incorporates a type 2 lap/shoulder restraint system.
(d)	No person, school district, school board, or organization, with respect to a public school bus or public school activity bus, equipped with passenger restraint system pursuant to this section, may be charged for a violation of this section if a passenger on the school bus fails to use or improperly uses the passenger restraint system."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.