BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1725
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
John Dutra, Chair
SB 1725 (Morrow) - As Amended: June 18, 2002
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Schoolbus driver certificates
SUMMARY : Requires the denial or revocation of a schoolbus
driver certificate as a result of the conviction of a violent
felony. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to revoke or
deny a certificate to drive a schoolbus, school pupil activity
bus, general public paratransit vehicle, youth bus driver
certificate, or a vehicle used for transportation of
developmentally disabled persons if the certificate applicant
or holder has been convicted of a serious or violent felony.
2)Exempts from this provision an applicant or certificate holder
who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony and has
obtained a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon, or who
has been convicted of a serious felony that is not a violent
felony and can prove to the sentencing court that he or she
has been rehabilitated for at least one year.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits any person who has been convicted of a violent or
serious felony from being employed or retained by a school
district.
2)Prohibits an entity contracting with a school district from
permitting an employee to come into contact with pupils until
the Department of Justice (DOJ) has certified that the
employee has not been convicted of a serious or violent
felony.
3)Exempts from that prohibition a serious felony that is not a
violent felony, if the employee can prove to the sentencing
court that he or she has been rehabilitated for at least one
year.
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4)Requires DMV to deny or revoke a schoolbus, school pupil
activity bus, general public paratransit vehicle, youth bus
driver certificate, or a certificate for a vehicle used for
transportation of developmentally disabled persons if any of
the following apply:
a) The person has been convicted of specified sex offenses.
b) The person has been convicted, within two years
proceeding the application date, of specified drug
offenses.
c) The person has failed to meet prescribed testing or
training requirements for certificate issuance.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, DMV will incur programming costs of approximately
$65,000 in fiscal year 2002-03 and $20,000 annually thereafter.
COMMENTS : AB 1610 (Ortiz), Chapter 588, Statutes of 1997,
required school districts to obtain the results of a fingerprint
check through the DOJ prior to employing any non-certificated
employee. According to the author of this bill, criminal
background checks for serious and violent felonies on classified
school employees who have held school bus driver certificates
since before the enactment of AB 1610 are only conducted on the
renewal of their school bus driver certificate.
The author and the sponsor indicate that their intent is to have
current certificate holders rechecked for serious or violent
felonies. Currently, when a person's certificate is up for
renewal (every five years) DMV does not run a new background
check and simply relies on the old background check and any
subsequent arrest information they may receive. Under this bill
they would go back and recheck every certificate holder to see
if they have a serious or violent felony.
Opponents characterize the bill as "a solution in search of a
problem." They contend that school districts are already
prohibited from hiring employees with a history of serious of
violent felonies and that DMV may revoke or deny a school bus
driver certificate to someone who has committed such a crime.
However, this bill will require currently employed school bus
drivers to have their certificates revoked regardless of their
SB 1725
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employment or driving record and despite having previously been
grandfathered by AB 1610. The opponents further argue that the
bill will penalize employees who committed youthful
indiscretions and have since exhibited perfect work records;
certificates of rehabilitation, which would allow such drivers
to retain their driving privileges under this bill are
exceedingly difficult to obtain. Finally, they complain that
the bill lacks due process protections.
Supporters, however, do not believe the bill "punishes
retroactively," but rather that it recognizes that the safety
and welfare of school children takes precedence over excusing
past indiscretions. They point out that while DMV can revoke a
driver certificate following a conviction for a new crime, under
current law they cannot revoke a certificate of a driver who has
had a previous conviction. Finally, they point out that drivers
with revoked certificates can still be employed as transit
drivers, work for Greyhound, or work for charter party carriers,
as long as they do not perform home-to-school transportation or
operate a school pupil activity bus.
Related legislation : AB 1485 (Granlund -1999), would have
required DMV to deny or revoke an application to drive a
schoolbus or paratransit vehicle for any person convicted of a
serious or violent felony. That bill would have excluded
applicants who held schoolbus certificates prior to the bill's
effective date. AB 1485 was vetoed by Governor Davis, who said,
" I cannot support a bill that allows any individual who has
committed a serious felony, including those associated with
driving, regardless of how long ago the crime occurred, to be
employed by a school district to drive a school bus."
Author's amendment : The author will offer amendments that make
the denial of a schoolbus certificate mandatory only for
original certificate applicants. Current certificate holders
who are determined to have a history of prior felony convictions
would be provided an appeal opportunity before DMV's existing
Certificate Action Review Board, which would be empowered to
allow the certificate to be retained by the schoolbus driver.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California School Bus Contractors Association (sponsor)
California Bus Association
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Cardinal Transportation Group, Inc.
San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Opposition
California School Employees Association
Service Employees International Union
United Transportation Union
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093