To provide grants for use by rural local educational agencies in purchasing new school buses.

July 22, 2004

Mr. REID introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

To provide grants for use by rural local educational agencies in purchasing new school buses.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Bus Utility and Safety in School Transportation Opportunity and Purchasing Act of 2004'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds that--

(1) school transportation issues have concerned parents, local educational agencies, lawmakers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Environmental Protection Agency for years;

(2) millions of children face potential future health problems because of exposure to noxious fumes emitted from older school buses;

(3) the Environmental Protection Agency established the Clean School Bus USA program to replace 129,000 of the oldest diesel buses that cannot be retrofitted in an effort to help children and the environment by improving air quality;

(4) unfortunately, many rural local educational agencies are unable to participate in that program because of the specialized fuels needed to sustain a clean bus fleet;

(5) many rural local educational agencies are operating outdated, unsafe school buses that are failing inspection because of automotive flaws, resulting in a depletion of school bus fleets of the local educational agencies; and

(6) many rural local educational agencies are unable to afford to buy newer, safer buses.

(b) PURPOSE- The purpose of this Act is to establish within the Environmental Protection Agency a Federal cost-sharing program to assist rural local educational agencies with older, unsafe school bus fleets in purchasing newer, safer school buses.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The term `rural local educational agency' means a local educational agency, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), with respect to which--

(A) each county in which a school served by the local educational agency is located has a total population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile;

(B) all schools served by the local educational agency are designated with a school locale code of 7 or 8, as determined by the Secretary of Education; or

(C) all schools served by the local educational agency have been designated, by official action taken by the legislature of the State in which the local educational agency is located, as rural schools for purposes relating to the provision of educational services to students in the State.

(3) SCHOOL BUS- The term `school bus' means a vehicle the primary purpose of which is to transport students to and from school or school activities.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL- From amounts made available under subsection (e) for a fiscal year, the Administrator shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to rural local educational agencies to pay the Federal share of the cost of purchasing new school buses.

(b) APPLICATION-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each rural local educational agency that seeks to receive a grant under this Act shall submit to the Administrator for approval an application at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information (in addition to information required under paragraph (2)) as the Administrator may require.

(2) CONTENTS- Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include--

(A) documentation that, of the total number of school buses operated by the rural local educational agency, not less than 50 percent of the school buses are in need of repair or replacement;

(B) documentation of the number of miles that each school bus operated by the rural local educational agency traveled in the most recent 9-month academic year;

(C) documentation that the rural local educational agency is operating with a reduced fleet of school buses;

(D) a resolution from the rural local educational agency that--

(i) authorizes the application of the rural local educational agency for a grant under this Act; and

(ii) describes the dedication of the rural local educational agency to school bus replacement programs and school transportation needs (including the number of new school buses needed by the rural local educational agency); and

(E) an assurance that the rural local educational agency will pay the non-Federal share of the cost of the purchase of new school buses under this Act from non-Federal sources.

(c) PRIORITY-

(1) IN GENERAL- In providing grants under this Act, the Administrator shall give priority to rural local educational agencies that, as determined by the Administrator--

(A) are transporting students in a bus manufactured before 1977;

(B) have a grossly depleted fleet of school buses; or

(C) serve a school that is required, under section 1116(b)(1)(E) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(1)(E)), to provide transportation to students to enable the students to transfer to another public school served by the rural local educational agency.

(d) PAYMENTS; FEDERAL SHARE-

(1) PAYMENTS- The Administrator shall pay to each rural local educational agency having an application approved under this section the Federal share described in paragraph (2) of the cost of purchasing such number of new school buses as is specified in the approved application.

(2) FEDERAL SHARE- The Federal share of the cost of purchasing a new school bus under this Act shall be 75 percent.

(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--

(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.

END