Bill Text: IL HB4873 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Adds several offenses to the list of existing offenses that disqualify a person for a school bus driver permit or a commercial driver's license. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2010-07-22 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-1182 [HB4873 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB4873-Engrossed.html

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HB4873 Engrossed LRB096 16695 AJT 31982 b
AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Sections 6-106.1 and 6-508 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/6-106.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1)
Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
(a) The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus driver
permit to those applicants who have met all the requirements of
the application and screening process under this Section to
insure the welfare and safety of children who are transported
on school buses throughout the State of Illinois. Applicants
shall obtain the proper application required by the Secretary
of State from their prospective or current employer and submit
the completed application to the prospective or current
employer along with the necessary fingerprint submission as
required by the Department of State Police to conduct
fingerprint based criminal background checks on current and
future information available in the state system and current
information available through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's system. Applicants who have completed the
fingerprinting requirements shall not be subjected to the
fingerprinting process when applying for subsequent permits or

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submitting proof of successful completion of the annual
refresher course. Individuals who on the effective date of this
Act possess a valid school bus driver permit that has been
previously issued by the appropriate Regional School
Superintendent are not subject to the fingerprinting
provisions of this Section as long as the permit remains valid
and does not lapse. The applicant shall be required to pay all
related application and fingerprinting fees as established by
rule including, but not limited to, the amounts established by
the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to process fingerprint based criminal background
investigations. All fees paid for fingerprint processing
services under this Section shall be deposited into the State
Police Services Fund for the cost incurred in processing the
fingerprint based criminal background investigations. All
other fees paid under this Section shall be deposited into the
Road Fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of the
Secretary of State in administering this Section. All
applicants must:
1. be 21 years of age or older;
2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
license issued by the Secretary of State;
3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not been
revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years immediately
prior to the date of application, or have not had his or
her commercial motor vehicle driving privileges

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disqualified within the 3 years immediately prior to the
date of application;
4. successfully pass a written test, administered by
the Secretary of State, on school bus operation, school bus
safety, and special traffic laws relating to school buses
and submit to a review of the applicant's driving habits by
the Secretary of State at the time the written test is
given;
5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care in
the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
promulgated by the Secretary of State;
6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
including tests for drug use for each applicant not subject
to such testing pursuant to federal law, conducted by a
licensed physician, an advanced practice nurse who has a
written collaborative agreement with a collaborating
physician which authorizes him or her to perform medical
examinations, or a physician assistant who has been
delegated the performance of medical examinations by his or
her supervising physician within 90 days of the date of
application according to standards promulgated by the
Secretary of State;
7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she has
not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
material fact in any application for permit;

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8. have completed an initial classroom course,
including first aid procedures, in school bus driver safety
as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and after
satisfactory completion of said initial course an annual
refresher course; such courses and the agency or
organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
permit until such course is completed;
9. not have been convicted of 2 or more serious traffic
offenses, as defined by rule, within one year prior to the
date of application that may endanger the life or safety of
any of the driver's passengers within the duration of the
permit period;
10. not have been convicted of reckless driving,
driving while intoxicated, or reckless homicide resulting
from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of the
date of application;
11. not have been convicted of committing or attempting
to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i)
those offenses defined in Sections 8-1.2, 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2,
9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5,
10-5.1, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 11-6, 11-6.5, 11-6.6, 11-9,
11-9.1, 11-9.3, 11-9.4, 11-14, 11-14.1, 11-15, 11-15.1,
11-16, 11-17, 11-17.1, 11-18, 11-18.1, 11-19, 11-19.1,
11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-20.3, 11-21, 11-22, 11-23,

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11-24, 11-25, 11-26, 12-2.6, 12-3.1, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2,
12-4.2-5, 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-4.6, 12-4.7, 12-4.9,
12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-7.5, 12-11,
12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-16.2, 12-21.5,
12-21.6, 12-33, 16-16, 16-16.1, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4,
18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1, 20-1.2, 20-1.3, 20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1,
24-1.2, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-1.7, 24-2.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.5,
31A-1, 31A-1.1, and 33A-2, and 33D-1, and in subsection (b)
of Section 8-1, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b),
clause (1), of Section 12-4, and in subsection (A), clauses
(a) and (b), of Section 24-3, and those offenses contained
in Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those
offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except those
offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 4,
and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis Control
Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois
Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in
the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act;
(v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state
or against the laws of the United States, which if
committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as
one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses
defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children
Act; and (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of
the Liquor Control Act of 1934; and (viii) those offenses
defined in the Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act.

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12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver in
motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted of
offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
highway;
13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a motor
vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death of any
person; and
14. not have, within the last 5 years, been adjudged to
be afflicted with or suffering from any mental disability
or disease.
(b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a period
specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by rule. It
shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection (a) of this
Section.
(c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the holder's
driver's license number, legal name, residence address, zip
code, social security number and date of birth, a brief
description of the holder and a space for signature. The
Secretary of State may require a suitable photograph of the
holder.
(d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver

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candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and submitting
the applicant's fingerprint cards to the Department of State
Police that are required for the criminal background
investigations. The employer shall certify in writing to the
Secretary of State that all pre-employment conditions have been
successfully completed including the successful completion of
an Illinois specific criminal background investigation through
the Department of State Police and the submission of necessary
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
criminal history information available through the Federal
Bureau of Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
submitting the school bus driver permit application.
(e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon receiving
certification from the employer that all pre-employment
conditions have been successfully completed, and upon
successful completion of all training and examination
requirements for the classification of the vehicle to be
operated, the Secretary of State shall provisionally issue a
School Bus Driver Permit. The permit shall remain in a
provisional status pending the completion of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation's criminal background investigation based
upon fingerprinting specimens submitted to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation by the Department of State Police. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall report the findings directly to

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the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall remove the
bus driver permit from provisional status upon the applicant's
successful completion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
criminal background investigation.
(f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is convicted
in another state of an offense that would make him or her
ineligible for a permit under subsection (a) of this Section.
The written notification shall be made within 5 days of the
entry of the conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for a
first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
subsequent violation.
(g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
(1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit of an applicant whose criminal background
investigation discloses that he or she is not in compliance
with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
(2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
this Section.
(3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school bus
driver permit if the permit holder's restricted commercial
or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn or

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otherwise invalidated.
(4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school bus
driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant who
fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
under federal law.
(5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend a
school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon
receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
(6) The Secretary of State shall suspend a school bus
driver permit for a period of 3 years upon receiving notice
from the employer that the holder failed to perform the
inspection procedure set forth in subsection (a) or (b) of
Section 12-816 of this Code.
The Secretary of State shall notify the State
Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1) has
failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no longer
eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the related
cancellation of the applicant's provisional school bus driver
permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect pending the
outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118 of this Code.
The scope of the hearing shall be limited to the issuance
criteria contained in subsection (a) of this Section. A

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petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the individual
feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver permit. The
permit holder's employer shall notify in writing to the
Secretary of State that the employer has certified the removal
of the offending school bus driver from service prior to the
start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An employing
school board that fails to remove the offending school bus
driver from service is subject to the penalties defined in
Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus contractor who
violates a provision of this Section is subject to the
penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
All valid school bus driver permits issued under this
Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective until
their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
(h) When a school bus driver permit holder who is a service
member is called to active duty, the employer of the permit
holder shall notify the Secretary of State, within 30 days of
notification from the permit holder, that the permit holder has
been called to active duty. Upon notification pursuant to this
subsection, (i) the Secretary of State shall characterize the
permit as inactive until a permit holder renews the permit as
provided in subsection (i) of this Section, and (ii) if a
permit holder fails to comply with the requirements of this
Section while called to active duty, the Secretary of State
shall not characterize the permit as invalid.

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(i) A school bus driver permit holder who is a service
member returning from active duty must, within 90 days, renew a
permit characterized as inactive pursuant to subsection (h) of
this Section by complying with the renewal requirements of
subsection (b) of this Section.
(j) For purposes of subsections (h) and (i) of this
Section:
"Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive
order of the President of the United States, an act of the
Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor.
"Service member" means a member of the Armed Services or
reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Illinois
National Guard.
(Source: P.A. 96-89, eff. 7-27-09; 96-818, eff. 11-17-09;
revised 12-1-09.)
(625 ILCS 5/6-508) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-508)
Sec. 6-508. Commercial Driver's License (CDL) -
qualification standards.
(a) Testing.
(1) General. No person shall be issued an original or
renewal CDL unless that person is domiciled in this State.
The Secretary shall cause to be administered such tests as
the Secretary deems necessary to meet the requirements of
49 C.F.R. Part 383, subparts F, G, H, and J.
(2) Third party testing. The Secretary of state may

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authorize a "third party tester", pursuant to 49 C.F.R.
Part 383.75, to administer the skills test or tests
specified by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986
and any appropriate federal rule.
(b) Waiver of Skills Test. The Secretary of State may waive
the skills test specified in this Section for a driver
applicant for a commercial driver license who meets the
requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 383.77 and Part 383.123.
(c) Limitations on issuance of a CDL. A CDL, or a
commercial driver instruction permit, shall not be issued to a
person while the person is subject to a disqualification from
driving a commercial motor vehicle, or unless otherwise
permitted by this Code, while the person's driver's license is
suspended, revoked or cancelled in any state, or any territory
or province of Canada; nor may a CDL be issued to a person who
has a CDL issued by any other state, or foreign jurisdiction,
unless the person first surrenders all such licenses. No CDL
shall be issued to or renewed for a person who does not meet
the requirement of 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11). The requirement may be
met with the aid of a hearing aid.
(c-1) The Secretary may issue a CDL with a school bus
driver endorsement to allow a person to drive the type of bus
described in subsection (d-5) of Section 6-104 of this Code.
The CDL with a school bus driver endorsement may be issued only
to a person meeting the following requirements:

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(1) the person has submitted his or her fingerprints to
the Department of State Police in the form and manner
prescribed by the Department of State Police. These
fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint
records now and hereafter filed in the Department of State
Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal
history records databases;
(2) the person has passed a written test, administered
by the Secretary of State, on charter bus operation,
charter bus safety, and certain special traffic laws
relating to school buses determined by the Secretary of
State to be relevant to charter buses, and submitted to a
review of the driver applicant's driving habits by the
Secretary of State at the time the written test is given;
(3) the person has demonstrated physical fitness to
operate school buses by submitting the results of a medical
examination, including tests for drug use; and
(4) the person has not been convicted of committing or
attempting to commit any one or more of the following
offenses: (i) those offenses defined in Sections 8-1.2,
9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2,
10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-5.1, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 11-6, 11-6.5,
11-6.6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-9.3, 11-9.4, 11-14, 11-14.1,
11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-17.1, 11-18, 11-18.1,
11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-20.3, 11-21,
11-22, 11-23, 11-24, 11-25, 11-26, 12-2.6, 12-3.1, 12-4,

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12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.2-5, 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-4.6,
12-4.7, 12-4.9, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4,
12-7.5, 12-11, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16,
12-16.2, 12-21.5, 12-21.6, 12-33, 16-16, 16-16.1, 18-1,
18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1, 20-1.2, 20-1.3, 20-2,
24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-1.7, 24-2.1,
24-3.3, 24-3.5, 31A-1, 31A-1.1, and 33A-2, and 33D-1, and
in subsection (b) of Section 8-1, and in subsection (a) and
subsection (b), clause (1), of Section 12-4, and in
subsection (A), clauses (a) and (b), of Section 24-3, and
those offenses contained in Article 29D of the Criminal
Code of 1961; (ii) those offenses defined in the Cannabis
Control Act except those offenses defined in subsections
(a) and (b) of Section 4, and subsection (a) of Section 5
of the Cannabis Control Act; (iii) those offenses defined
in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those
offenses defined in the Methamphetamine Control and
Community Protection Act; (v) any offense committed or
attempted in any other state or against the laws of the
United States, which if committed or attempted in this
State would be punishable as one or more of the foregoing
offenses; (vi) the offenses defined in Sections 4.1 and 5.1
of the Wrongs to Children Act; and (vii) those offenses
defined in Section 6-16 of the Liquor Control Act of 1934;
and (viii) those offenses defined in the Methamphetamine
Precursor Control Act.

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The Department of State Police shall charge a fee for
conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be
deposited into the State Police Services Fund and may not
exceed the actual cost of the records check.
(c-2) The Secretary shall issue a CDL with a school bus
endorsement to allow a person to drive a school bus as defined
in this Section. The CDL shall be issued according to the
requirements outlined in 49 C.F.R. 383. A person may not
operate a school bus as defined in this Section without a
school bus endorsement. The Secretary of State may adopt rules
consistent with Federal guidelines to implement this
subsection (c-2).
(d) Commercial driver instruction permit. A commercial
driver instruction permit may be issued to any person holding a
valid Illinois driver's license if such person successfully
passes such tests as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
A commercial driver instruction permit shall not be issued to a
person who does not meet the requirements of 49 CFR 391.41
(b)(11), except for the renewal of a commercial driver
instruction permit for a person who possesses a commercial
instruction permit prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1999.
(Source: P.A. 94-307, eff. 9-30-05; 94-556, eff. 9-11-05;
95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-382, eff. 8-23-07.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.