As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 557


Representative Gerberry 

Cosponsors: Representatives Fedor, Murray, Fende, Milkovich 

A BILL
To amend sections 4511.63, 4511.76, 4511.761, 1
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.77, and 4511.79 and to 2
enact section 4511.765 of the Revised Code to 3
establish inspection and repair standards for 4
wheelchair lifts installed on vehicles used for 5
pupil transportation.6


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 4511.63, 4511.76, 4511.761, 7
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.77, and 4511.79 be amended and section 8
4511.765 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:9

       Sec. 4511.63.  (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this 10
section, the operator of any bus, any school vehicle, or any 11
vehicle transporting a material or materials required to be 12
placarded under 49 C.F.R. Parts 100-185, before crossing at grade 13
any track of a railroad, shall stop the vehicle and, while so 14
stopped, shall listen through an open door or open window and look 15
in both directions along the track for any approaching train, and 16
for signals indicating the approach of a train, and shall proceed 17
only upon exercising due care after stopping, looking, and 18
listening as required by this section. Upon proceeding, the 19
operator of such a vehicle shall cross only in a gear that will 20
ensure there will be no necessity for changing gears while 21
traversing the crossing and shall not shift gears while crossing 22
the tracks.23

        (B) This section does not apply at grade crossings when the 24
public utilities commission has authorized and approved an exempt 25
crossing as provided in this division.26

       (1) Any local authority may file an application with the 27
commission requesting the approval of an exempt crossing. Upon 28
receipt of such a request, the commission shall authorize a 29
limited period for the filing of comments by any party regarding 30
the application and then shall conduct a public hearing in the 31
community seeking the exempt crossing designation. The commission 32
shall provide appropriate prior public notice of the comment 33
period and the public hearing. By registered mail, the commission 34
shall notify each railroad operating over the crossing of the 35
comment period.36

       (2) After considering any comments or other information 37
received, the commission may approve or reject the application. By 38
order, the commission may establish conditions for the exempt 39
crossing designation, including compliance with division (b) of 49 40
C.F.R. Part 392.10, when applicable. An exempt crossing 41
designation becomes effective only when appropriate signs giving 42
notice of the exempt designation are erected at the crossing as 43
ordered by the commission and any other conditions ordered by the 44
commission are satisfied.45

       (3) By order, the commission may rescind any exempt crossing 46
designation made under this section if the commission finds that a 47
condition at the exempt crossing has changed to such an extent 48
that the continuation of the exempt crossing designation 49
compromises public safety. The commission may conduct a public 50
hearing to investigate and determine whether to rescind the exempt 51
crossing designation. If the commission rescinds the designation, 52
it shall order the removal of any exempt crossing signs and may 53
make any other necessary order.54

       (C) As used in this section:55

       (1) "School vehicle" means any vehicle used for the 56
transportation of pupils to and from a school or school-related 57
function if the vehicle is owned or operated by, or operated under 58
contract with, a public or nonpublic school.59

        (2) "Bus" means any vehicle originally designed by its 60
manufacturer to transport sixteen or more passengers, including 61
the driver, or carries sixteen or more passengers, including the 62
driver.63

       (3) "Exempt crossing" means a highway rail grade crossing 64
authorized and approved by the public utilities commission under 65
division (B) of this section at which vehicles may cross without 66
making the stop otherwise required by this section.67

        (D) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 68
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 69
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 70
or more violations of this section or section 4511.76, 4511.761, 71
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.765, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised 72
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 73
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 74
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.75

       Sec. 4511.76.  (A)(1) The department of public safety, by and 76
with the advice of the superintendent of public instruction, shall 77
adopt and enforce rules relating to the construction, design, and 78
equipment, including lighting equipment required by section 79
4511.771 of the Revised Code, of all school buses both publicly 80
and privately owned and operated in this state.81

       (B)(2) The department of education, by and with the advice of 82
the director of public safety, shall adopt and enforce rules 83
relating to the operation of all vehicles used for pupil 84
transportation.85

       (B) The department of public safety shall adopt and enforce 86
rules related to the inspection of each wheelchair lift installed 87
on a vehicle used for pupil transportation. In adopting the rules, 88
the department may consult with any manufacturer of a wheelchair 89
lift that is installed on a vehicle used for pupil transportation.90

       The rules shall require each wheelchair lift installed on a 91
vehicle used for pupil transportation to be inspected by a person 92
certified by the original manufacturer of the wheelchair lift if 93
that manufacturer is available to certify inspectors for its 94
wheelchair lifts. The rules shall establish guidelines for 95
alternative certification of inspectors if a wheelchair lift 96
manufacturer is not available to certify inspectors for its 97
wheelchair lifts. The rules may establish standards to verify and 98
maintain certification of an inspector.99

       The department shall develop and provide the form to be used 100
by a certified inspector when attesting that a wheelchair lift 101
installed on a vehicle used for pupil transportation is in 102
compliance with the rules adopted under this section.103

       Inspection of a wheelchair lift on a vehicle used for pupil 104
transportation by a person certified as provided in rules adopted 105
under this section may be in addition to the state highway patrol 106
inspection of a wheelchair lift as part of a school bus inspection 107
under section 4511.761 of the Revised Code.108

       (C) No person shall operate a vehicle used for pupil 109
transportation within this state in violation of the rules of the 110
department of education or the department of public safety. No 111
person, being the owner thereof or having the supervisory 112
responsibility therefor, shall permit the operation of a vehicle 113
used for pupil transportation within this state in violation of 114
the rules of the department of education or the department of 115
public safety.116

       (D) The department of public safety shall adopt and enforce 117
rules relating to the issuance of a license under section 4511.763 118
of the Revised Code. The rules may relate to the moral character 119
of the applicant; the condition of the equipment to be operated; 120
the liability and property damage insurance carried by the 121
applicant; the posting of satisfactory and sufficient bond; and 122
such other rules as the director of public safety determines 123
reasonably necessary for the safety of the pupils to be 124
transported.125

       (E) As used in this section, "vehicle used for pupil 126
transportation" means any vehicle that is identified as such by 127
the department of education by rule and that is subject to Chapter 128
3301-83 of the Administrative Code.129

       (F) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 130
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 131
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 132
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.761, 133
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.765, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised 134
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 135
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 136
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.137

       Sec. 4511.761.  (A) The state highway patrol shall inspect 138
every school bus to ascertain whether its construction, design, 139
and equipment comply with the regulations adopted pursuant to 140
section 4511.76 of the Revised Code and all other provisions of 141
law.142

       The superintendent of the state highway patrol shall adopt a 143
distinctive inspection decal not less than twelve inches in size, 144
and bearing the date of the inspection, which shall be affixed to 145
the outside surface of each side of each school bus which upon 146
such inspection is found to comply with the regulations adopted 147
pursuant to section 4511.76 of the Revised Code. The appearance of 148
said decal shall be changed from year to year as to shape and 149
color in order to provide easy visual inspection. No decal shall 150
be issued for a vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift unless the 151
wheelchair lift has been inspected as required under section 152
4511.765 of the Revised Code and the certificate attesting to 153
compliance with the rules governing wheelchair lift inspection is 154
presented to the person conducting the school bus inspection under 155
this section.156

       No person shall operate, nor shall any person being the owner 157
thereof or having supervisory responsibility therefor permit the 158
operation of, a school bus within this state unless there are 159
displayed thereon the decals issued by the state highway patrol 160
bearing the proper date of inspection for the calendar year for 161
which the inspection decals were issued.162

       (B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 163
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 164
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 165
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.76, 166
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.765, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised 167
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 168
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 169
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.170

       (C) Whenever a person is found guilty in a court of record of 171
a violation of this section, the trial judge, in addition to or 172
independent of all other penalties provided by law, may suspend 173
for any period of time not exceeding three years, or cancel the 174
license of any person, partnership, association, or corporation, 175
issued under section 4511.763 of the Revised Code.176

       Sec. 4511.762.  (A) Except as provided in division (B) of 177
this section, no person who is the owner of a bus that previously 178
was registered as a school bus that is used or is to be used 179
exclusively for purposes other than the transportation of 180
children, shall operate the bus or permit it to be operated within 181
this state unless the bus has been painted a color different from 182
that prescribed for school buses by section 4511.77 of the Revised 183
Code and painted in such a way that the words "stop" and "school 184
bus" are obliterated.185

       (B) Any church bus that previously was registered as a school 186
bus and is registered under section 4503.07 of the Revised Code 187
may retain the paint color prescribed for school buses by section 188
4511.77 of the Revised Code if the bus complies with all of the 189
following:190

       (1) The words "school bus" required by section 4511.77 of the 191
Revised Code are covered or obliterated and the bus is marked on 192
the front and rear with the words "church bus" painted in black 193
lettering not less than ten inches in height;194

       (2) The automatically extended stop warning sign required by 195
section 4511.75 of the Revised Code is removed and the word "stop" 196
required by section 4511.77 of the Revised Code is covered or 197
obliterated;198

       (3) The flashing red and amber lights required by section 199
4511.771 of the Revised Code are covered or removed;200

       (4) The inspection decal required by section 4511.761 of the 201
Revised Code is covered or removed;202

       (5) The identification number assigned under section 4511.764 203
of the Revised Code and marked in black lettering on the front and 204
rear of the bus is covered or obliterated.205

       (C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 206
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 207
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 208
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.76, 209
4511.761, 4511.764, 4511.765, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised 210
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 211
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 212
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.213

       (D) Whenever a person is found guilty in a court of record of 214
a violation of this section, the trial judge, in addition to or 215
independent of all other penalties provided by law, may suspend 216
for any period of time not exceeding three years, or cancel the 217
license of any person, partnership, association, or corporation, 218
issued under section 4511.763 of the Revised Code.219

       Sec. 4511.764.  (A) The superintendent of the state highway 220
patrol shall require school buses to be registered, in the name of 221
the owner, with the state highway patrol on forms and in 222
accordance with regulations as the superintendent may adopt.223

       When the superintendent is satisfied that the registration 224
has been completed, the superintendent shall assign an identifying 225
number to each school bus registered in accordance with this 226
section. The number so assigned shall be marked on the front and 227
rear of the vehicle in black lettering not less than six inches in 228
height and will remain unchanged as long as the ownership of that 229
vehicle remains the same.230

       No person shall operate, nor shall any person, being the 231
owner thereof or having supervisory responsibility therefor, 232
permit the operation of a school bus within this state unless 233
there is displayed thereon an identifying number in accordance 234
with this section.235

       (B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 236
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 237
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 238
or more violations of section 4511.63, 4511.76, 4511.761, 239
4511.762, 4511.765, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised Code or a 240
municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any of those 241
sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor 242
of the fourth degree.243

       Sec. 4511.765. (A) In addition to annual inspection by the 244
state highway patrol under section 4511.761 of the Revised Code, 245
each wheelchair lift installed on a vehicle used for pupil 246
transportation shall be inspected annually by a person certified 247
as provided in rules of the department of public safety under 248
section 4511.76 of the Revised Code to ascertain whether its 249
construction, design, and equipment comply with rules adopted 250
under that section. For each wheelchair lift inspected and found 251
to be in compliance with rules adopted under section 4511.76 of 252
the Revised Code, the certified inspector shall sign a form 253
provided by the department of public safety attesting to the 254
compliance, which form shall be presented to the state highway 255
patrol whenever the vehicle is inspected under section 4511.761 of 256
the Revised Code.257

       (B) Any repair of a wheelchair lift on a vehicle used for 258
pupil transportation shall be made by a person certified as 259
provided in rules adopted under section 4511.76 of the Revised 260
Code. A person who is not certified may perform routine 261
maintenance on a wheelchair lift.262

       (C) No person shall operate, nor shall any person being the 263
owner thereof or having supervisory responsibility therefor, 264
permit the operation of, a vehicle used for pupil transportation 265
that is equipped with a wheelchair lift unless the wheelchair lift 266
has passed inspection as required by this section.267

       (D) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 268
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 269
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 270
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.76, 271
4511.761, 4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.77, or 4511.79 of the Revised 272
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 273
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 274
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.275

       (E) Whenever a person is found guilty in a court of record of 276
a violation of this section, the trial judge, in addition to or 277
independent of all other penalties provided by law, may suspend 278
for any period of time not exceeding three years, or cancel, the 279
license of any person, partnership, association, or corporation, 280
issued under section 4511.763 of the Revised Code.281

       Sec. 4511.77.  (A) No person shall operate, nor shall any 282
person being the owner thereof or having supervisory 283
responsibility therefor permit the operation of, a school bus 284
within this state unless it is painted national school bus yellow 285
and is marked on both front and rear with the words "school bus" 286
in black lettering not less than eight inches in height and on the 287
rear of the bus with the word "stop" in black lettering not less 288
than ten inches in height.289

       (B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 290
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 291
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 292
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.76, 293
4511.761, 4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.765, or 4511.79 of the Revised 294
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 295
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 296
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.297

       (C) Whenever a person is found guilty in a court of record of 298
a violation of this section, the trial judge, in addition to or 299
independent of all other penalties provided by law, may suspend 300
for any period of time not exceeding three years, or cancel the 301
license of any person, partnership, association, or corporation, 302
issued under section 4511.763 of the Revised Code.303

       Sec. 4511.79.  (A) No person shall drive a "commercial motor 304
vehicle" as defined in section 4506.01 of the Revised Code, or a 305
"commercial car" or "commercial tractor," as defined in section 306
4501.01 of the Revised Code, while the person's ability or 307
alertness is so impaired by fatigue, illness, or other causes that 308
it is unsafe for the person to drive such vehicle. No driver shall 309
use any drug which would adversely affect the driver's ability or 310
alertness.311

       (B) No owner, as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised 312
Code, of a "commercial motor vehicle," "commercial car," or 313
"commercial tractor," or a person employing or otherwise directing 314
the driver of such vehicle, shall require or knowingly permit a 315
driver in any such condition described in division (A) of this 316
section to drive such vehicle upon any street or highway.317

       (C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever 318
violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If the 319
offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one 320
or more violations of this section or section 4511.63, 4511.76, 321
4511.761, 4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.765, or 4511.77 of the Revised 322
Code or a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any 323
of those sections, whoever violates this section is guilty of a 324
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.325

       Section 2. That existing sections 4511.63, 4511.76, 4511.761, 326
4511.762, 4511.764, 4511.77, and 4511.79 of the Revised Code are 327
hereby repealed.328