Bill Text: NJ S960 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires State to reimburse licensing costs for certain school bus drivers.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S960 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S960-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State to reimburse licensing costs for certain school bus drivers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning commercial driver license fees for school bus drivers and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act,
"Eligible district" means a public school district that owns and operates its own school buses and does not use a school bus contractor for the provision of student transportation services.
b. An individual may apply for employment as a school bus driver with an eligible district and shall be reimbursed by the Department of Education for the cost of obtaining a commercial driver license and all required endorsements, provided that:
(1) the individual maintains a commercial driver license with all required endorsements during the period of employment with the eligible district;
(2) the individual completes all training required for school bus drivers pursuant to State and federal law; and
(3) the individual commits to five years of employment as a school bus driver in the eligible district.
c. An individual that receives reimbursement from the department pursuant to subsection b. of this section, who does not complete five years of employment as a school bus driver with an eligible district, shall repay to the department the total cost of obtaining a commercial driver license and all required endorsements, prorated against the duration of employment as a school bus driver in an eligible district as follows:
(1) an individual who is employed as a school bus driver for three years or less shall repay 100 percent of the total cost of obtaining a commercial driver license and all required endorsements; and
(2) an individual who is employed as a school bus driver for four years shall repay 50 percent of the total cost of obtaining a commercial driver license and all required endorsements.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would permit individuals to apply for employment as school bus drivers in eligible districts and would require the Department of Education to reimburse the individual for the cost of obtaining a commercial driver license (CDL) and all required endorsements, provided that:
· the individual maintains a CDL with all required endorsements during the period of employment with the eligible district;
· the individual completes all training required for school bus drivers; and
· the individual commits to five years of employment as a school bus driver in the eligible district.
The bill defines "eligible district" as any public school district that owns and operates its own school buses and does not use a school bus contractor for the provision of student transportation services.
The bill provides that an individual that receives funding from the department and who does not complete five years of employment as a school bus driver with an eligible district would be required to repay to the department the cost of obtaining a CDL and all required endorsements, prorated against the duration of employment as a school bus driver in an eligible district as follows:
· an individual who completes three full years of employment or less would repay 100 percent of the cost of obtaining a CDL and all required endorsements; and
· an individual who completes four full years of employment would repay 50 percent of the cost of obtaining a CDL and all required endorsements.
