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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 16, 2019 11:05 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jeffrey P. Pyle |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Accelerated School Bus Endorsement Legislation |
| In the near future, I plan on introducing legislation that will implement an expedited process for a CDL holder to receive a school bus endorsement. Over the past few years, at the national level and within our Commonwealth, school districts have been tasked with trying to address the current shortage of school bus drivers. The shortage is a result of the extremely high barriers of entry. To receive the school bus endorsement, a prospective school bus driver must invest a large amount of their time and money to complete training, pass exams and undergo medical examinations. However, for an already licensed commercial driver, a lot of the requirements for the school bus endorsement can be duplicative. My legislation will require PennDOT to create a future program where a CDL holder who applies for a school bus endorsement may receive the endorsement through an accelerated process. However, the implementation of the program would be dependent upon approval from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Since the Federal Government outlines the minimum requirements for a state to issue a school bus endorsement, the Department would be responsible for ensuring the accelerated program does violate any of those minimum requirements. I hope you will support my upcoming legislation. |
Introduced as HB2257