Seat Belts on Buses Face Funding Cuts As Date Looms

A 2007 law mandating three-point seat belts on all new Texas school buses takes effect this Wednesday. Any buses purchased after September 1st must be equipped with the seat belts. The law, HB 323, was drafted by State Rep. Mike Hamilton and State Sen. Eddie Lucio.

During the 2009 legislative session, lawmakers appropriated $10 million for fiscal year 2011 for the seat belt program, dependent on developing a plan to reimburse school districts for the cost associated with seat belts on new buses. That reimbursement plan, developed by the Texas Transportation Institute and Texas Education Agency, is complete. However, authorization by the Legislative Budget Board is pending.

A representative from TEA told local news outlet KXAN that the LBB has not yet approved the implementation and reimbursement plan, and that TEA is not authorized to implement the program until it's approved. Meanwhile, TEA recommended the fund be cut from $10 million to just $3.6 million.  TEA and other state agencies were asked to cite programs where cuts could be made in order to reach a 5 percent total budget decrease.