ASSEMBLY, No. 2006
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MAY 13, 1996
By Assemblywoman BUONO and Assemblyman BARNES
An Act concerning pupil transportation, amending N.J.S.18A:39-1 and P.L.1984, c.73 and supplementing chapter 1A of Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Student Safety Act of 1996."
2. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Transportation, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Education, shall develop three definitions of the term "hazardous route," for the purposes of providing transportation for public school pupils. The definitions shall differentiate between suburban, urban and rural routes. The commissioners in developing the definitions shall consider, but not be limited to, the following criteria:
(1) Population density;
(2) Traffic volume;
(3) Average vehicle velocity;
(4) Existence or absence of sufficient sidewalk space;
(5) Roads and highways that are winding or have blind curves;
(6) Roads and highways with steep inclines and declines;
(7) Drop-offs that are in close proximity to a sidewalk;
(8) Bridges or overpasses that must be crossed to reach the school;
(9) Train tracks or trestles that must be crossed to reach the school; and
(10) Busy roads or highways that must be crossed to reach the school.
b. The Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the local police department, shall designate hazardous routes in the State using the definitions established pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The Commissioner of Transportation shall immediately notify the Commissioner of Education of the designated hazardous routes.
c. The Commissioner of Transportation shall conduct an annual review to determine whether a particular hazardous route continues to require that designation. The Commissioner of Transportation shall immediately notify the Commissioner of Education if a determination is made to discontinue a hazardous route designation.
3. (New section) The Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act. These regulations shall include, but shall not be limited to, procedures for the effective and timely review of the hazardous route designation.
4. N.J.S.18A:39-1 is amended to read as follows:
18A:39-1. Whenever in any district there are elementary school pupils who live more than two miles from their public school of attendance or secondary school pupils who live more than 2 1/2 miles from their public school of attendance, the district shall provide transportation to and from school for these pupils. A district shall also provide transportation to and from school for public school pupils that live along a hazardous route designated by the Commissioner of Transportation pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill). Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a district shall be entitled to State aid in an amount equal to 100% of the cost of providing transportation to pupils that live along a hazardous route.
When any school district provides any transportation for public school pupils to and from school pursuant to this section, transportation shall be supplied to school pupils residing in such school district in going to and from any remote school other than a public school, not operated for profit in whole or in part, located within the State not more than 20 miles from the residence of the pupil; except that if the district is located in a county of the third class with a population of not less than 80,000 and not more than 120,000 transportation shall be provided to a nonpublic school located outside the State not more than 20 miles from the residence of the pupil, if there is no appropriate nonpublic school within the State located closer to the residence of the pupil; provided the per pupil cost of the lowest bid received does not exceed $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined for subsequent years pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a), and if such bid shall exceed that cost then the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil shall be eligible to receive $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a) for subsequent years toward the cost of his transportation to a qualified school other than a public school, regardless of whether such transportation is along established public school routes. It shall be the obligation of the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil attending a remote school, other than a public school, not operating for profit in whole or in part, to register said pupil with the office of the secretary of the board of education at the time and in the manner specified by rules and regulations of the State board in order to be eligible for the transportation provided by this section. If the registration of any such pupil is not completed by September 1 of the school year and if it is necessary for the board of education to enter into a contract establishing a new route in order to provide such transportation, then the board shall not be required to provide it, but in lieu thereof the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil shall be eligible to receive $675 or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (18A:39-1a), or an amount computed by multiplying 1/180 times the number of school days remaining in the school year at the time of registration, times $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a) for subsequent years, whichever is the smaller amount. Whenever any regional school district provides any transportation for pupils attending schools other than public schools pursuant to this section, said regional district shall assume responsibility for the transportation of all such pupils, and the cost of such transportation for pupils below the grade level for which the regional district was organized shall be prorated by the regional district among the constituent districts on a per pupil basis, after approval of such costs by the county superintendent. This section shall not require school districts to provide any transportation for pupils attending a school other than a public school, where the only transportation presently provided by said district is for school children transported pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes or for pupils transported to a vocational, technical or other public school offering a specialized program. Any transportation to a school, other than a public school, shall be pursuant to the same rules and regulations promulgated by the State board as governs transportation to any public school.
The board of education may make rules and contracts for the pupil transportation provided pursuant to this section.
Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prohibit a board of education from making contracts for the transportation of pupils to a school in an adjoining district, when such pupils are transferred to the district by order of the county superintendent, or when any pupils shall attend school in a district other than that in which they shall reside by virtue of an agreement made by the respective boards of education.
Nothing herein contained shall limit or diminish in any way any of the provisions for transportation for children pursuant to chapter 46 of this Title.
(cf: P.L.1992, c.33, s.1)
5. Section 25 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-25) is amended to read as follows:
25. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subtitle 4 of Title 27 of the Revised Statutes and P.L.1946, c.301 (C.27:15A-1 et seq.), the commissioner may, pursuant to appropriations or authorizations being made from time to time by the Legislature according to law, allocate to counties and municipalities funds for the planning, acquisition, engineering, construction, reconstruction, repair, resurfacing and rehabilitation of public highways and the planning, acquisition, engineering, construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance and rehabilitation of public transportation projects and of other transportation projects which a county or municipality may be authorized by law to undertake. In the case of a county or municipality for which an allocation has been made for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 1983, of an amount of federal aid for the federal aid urban system, as defined in 23 U.S.C.{103, the amount of State aid allocated under this section in any fiscal year shall not be less than the amount of federal aid so allocated, together with the amount of matching funds required under federal law. No allocation shall be made to a county or municipality without certification by the commissioner: (1) that there exists with respect to that county or municipality a comprehensive plan, or plans, which he has approved, for the effective allocation, utilization and coordination of available federal and State transportation aid, and (2) that the county or municipality has agreed that State aid provided under this section is provided in lieu of federal aid for the federal aid urban system program and that any federal aid for the federal aid urban system program attributable to the area will be programmed by the Department of Transportation for projects of regional significance. In any year in which insufficient funds have been appropriated to meet the minimum county allocations established in this section, or if no appropriation is provided, the commissioner shall determine on a prorated basis the amount of the deficiency for each county having a minimum allocation and allocate from funds available under the federal aid urban system program sufficient funds to meet the minimum allocations.
b. The commissioner shall, pursuant to appropriations or authorizations being made from time to time by the Legislature according to law and pursuant to the provisions of subsection d. of this section, allocate at his discretion State aid to municipalities for public highways under their jurisdiction and for emergency transportation projects, except that the amount to be appropriated for this program shall be 15% of the amount appropriated pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection d. of this section.
c. The commissioner shall, pursuant to appropriations or authorizations being made from time to time by the Legislature according to law and pursuant to the provisions of subsection d. of this section, allocate State aid to municipalities for public highways under their jurisdiction, except that the amount to be appropriated for this purpose shall be 85% of the amount appropriated pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection d. of this section. The amount to be appropriated shall be allocated on the basis of the following distribution factor:
Pc Cm
DF = ____ + ____
Ps Sm
where, DF equals the distribution factor
Pc equals county population
Ps equals State population
Cm equals municipal road mileage within the county
Sm equals municipal road mileage within the State.
After the amount of aid has been allocated based on the above formula, the commissioner shall determine priority for the funding of municipal projects within each county, based upon criteria relating to volume of traffic, safety considerations, growth potential, readiness to obligate funds and local taxing capacity. In addition to the above criteria used in determining priority of funding of municipal projects in each county, the commissioner shall [consider whether a project is] give the highest priority to projects intended to remedy the hazardous conditions [as identified for the purposes of providing transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1.2 for school pupils]of a hazardous route designated by the commissioner pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as this bill).
For the purposes of this subsection, (1) "population" means the official population count as reported by the New Jersey Department of Labor; and (2) "municipal road mileage" means that road mileage under the jurisdiction of municipalities, as determined by the department.
d. There shall be appropriated at least $30,000,000.00 in each fiscal year for the purposes provided herein and in subsections b. and c. of this section. (1) Of that appropriation, the commissioner shall allocate $5,000,000.00 as State aid to any municipality qualifying for aid pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.). The commissioner shall allocate the aid to each municipality in the same proportion that the municipality receives aid under P.L.1978, c.14. (2) The remaining amount of the appropriation shall be allocated pursuant to the provisions of subsections b. and c. of this section.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.99, s.1)
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill is designated the "Student Safety Act of 1996." The bill requires that school districts provide transportation to and from school for public school pupils that live along hazardous routes. A district will be entitled to State aid in an amount equal to 100% of the cost of providing this transportation. The hazardous routes will be designated by the Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with local police departments. The designations will be made using definitions of hazardous routes established by the Commissioner of Transportation, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Education. In developing the definitions, the commissioners will differentiate between suburban, urban and rural routes, and their particular characteristics. The commissioners, in developing the definitions, will also take into consideration certain criteria, including: population density; traffic volume; average vehicle velocity; existence or absence of sufficient sidewalk space; roads and highways that are winding or have blind curves; roads and highways with steep inclines and declines; drop-offs that are in close proximity to a sidewalk; bridges or overpasses that must be crossed to reach the school; train tracks or trestles that must be crossed to reach the school; and busy roads or highways that must be crossed to reach the school. The bill provides that the Commissioner of Transportation will do a routine review of those routes designated as hazardous to ensure that they remain qualified for that designation.
Additionally, this bill requires that the Commissioner of Transportation when determining discretionary aid from the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund give the highest priority to projects which are intended to remedy conditions on the hazardous routes designated by the commissioner pursuant to this bill.
Requires school districts to provide transportation to public school pupils living along hazardous routes.