Senate Clears Bill Requiring Seat Belts on New Texas School Buses
New school buses purchased throughout the State of Texas will now be required to be equipped with seat belts.
KCEN-TV cites a Texas Tribune report that the Texas State Senate passed legislation Wednesday calling for the new safety measure. Senate Bill 693 passed 25 to 6 in favor of seat belts on school buses. All buses purchased in Texas in 2017 will be required to be outfitted with three-point seat belts.
The bill's author, Houston Democrat Sylvia Garcia, told the Texas Tribune, "School buses should have three-point seat belts. Period." The Tribune cited a school bus crash as recent as this month near Beaumont, which sent 23 4th graders to the hospital. None of the students died in that crash and all of the seats on the bus had three-point seat belts.