LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE TO

SENATE, No. 2032

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 30, 1997

      Senate Bill No. 2032 of 1997 amends the statute that requires the installation of crossing control arms on school buses, approved on August 6, 1996, to clarify that the law applies to buses transporting nonpublic as well as public school pupils. The bill also specifies that the requirement applies to any agency operating school buses and to those school buses which were originally designed to carry 10 or more passengers. Under the bill, school bus operators would have 60 days after the bill is signed into law to provide the Commissioner of Education with a list of vehicles and an indication as to whether each vehicle is currently equipped with a crossing control arm. A section of the statute requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules and regulations has been determined to be unnecessary and is repealed.

      The Department of Education indicated that it would cost approximately $320,000 to install crossing control arms on 1,000 vehicles that are currently in operation to transport nonpublic school students and an estimated 100 new school buses that will be purchased for the 1997-98 school year. The department also indicated that there will be sufficient funds in the existing State Aid School Bus Crossing Arms account to absorb the estimated $320,000 cost of installing crossing control arms on vehicles transporting nonpublic school pupils, Therefore, the enactment of this bill would not result in any additional costs to the State.

      The Office of Legislative Services concurs with the estimate made by the Department of Education.

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.