Legislature passes bills aimed at school-bus safety

Two bills aimed at improving the safety of school buses — and inspired by a collision that severely injured a 6-year-old girl north of Whitefish — have passed the Montana Legislature with overwhelming support.

Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 207 after it passed both chambers of the Legislature unanimously, and lawmakers sent House Bill 267 to his desk recently. Both bills were sponsored by Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka.

The legislation was inspired by Jordana Hubble, who has been recovering from a traumatic brain injury since November 2019, when she was hit by a vehicle while getting off a school bus on U.S. 93 near Olney.

HB 207 allows school buses to be outfitted with additional flashing red lights to alert other motorists that they must stop.

"We want to get them down in the grill and above the bumper, where the drivers look," said Griz Wold, a retired bus driver who started the local group Jordana's Alliance for Bus Safety.

HB 267 makes several changes to state law, including prohibiting motorists from passing school buses on the right and requiring buses to use extended stop arms in certain circumstances. Those are stop signs affixed to long metal arms that swing out from the sides of buses to partially obstruct traffic. The bill was amended in the Senate to reduce the minimum length of the stop arms from 72 inches to 54 inches.

"This is key in that it reduces the cost of the extended stop arm from approximately $2,500 down to $300," Duram told colleagues on the House floor last week. "So for school districts that need to save a little money, this will be a good option for them."

HB 267 INITIALLY passed the House with unanimous support, but four Republicans voted against it in the Senate, and seven Republicans voted in opposition when the bill was returned to the House with amendments.

Opponents, including a lobbyist for the Montana School Bus Contractors Association, argued the cost of outfitting buses with extended stop arms should not fall squarely on private bus companies that contract with school districts.

Last week, Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, said he was reluctantly voting against the bill because he considered it an "unfunded mandate."

Rep. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, responded that he knows Hubble and her family personally. "And if that would have been my granddaughter, I don't care what the money costs," he said.

Duram said that when it comes to "the safety of our children, we either pay now or we pay later. And the medical bills for this little girl, they're in the millions." He added it would take "a miracle" for her to achieve a full recovery.

HB 267 also will require law enforcement to follow up on reports of motorists illegally passing stopped school buses. The bill states such reports "must be investigated by a peace officer, and the investigating officer shall contact the reporting party within 30 days to provide an update on the status or outcome of the investigation."

Several Flathead Valley residents testified in support of the two bills. The legislation also received support from several law enforcement organizations, including the Montana Highway Patrol, the Association of Montana Troopers and the Montana Police Protection Association. Duram served 26 years as a state trooper before becoming a legislator in 2019.

MONTANA LAW already required motorists traveling in both directions to stop at least 30 feet from a stopped school bus that has its red lights flashing. Motorists may proceed when the bus turns off those flashing lights and children have safely boarded or reached the side of the road. Motorists also must slow down and proceed with caution when approaching buses with yellow or amber flashing lights, which signals they are preparing to stop and load or unload children.

Wold, with the local bus-safety group, said he's happy to see the two bills becoming law, but he wants lawmakers to go a step further by requiring continued education and training for bus drivers.

Additionally, Wold stressed that "people need to put their cellphones down and watch what they're doing."