Bill allowing school bus ads rejected

SALT LAKE CITY — Legislation that would have allowed school boards to sell advertising space on the exterior of school buses has stalled in the Utah State Legislature.

A House committee rejected the bill last Friday.

The bill would have required school boards to adopt guidelines for the type of advertising permitted on buses. Ads that promoted illegal substances for minors, such as alcohol and tobacco, and that promoted gambling or sexual material would have been prohibited.

Placement of advertisements on the back of a school bus would have also been prohibited.

ABC 4 News reports that state Rep. Jim Bird, who sponsored the bill, hoped that bus advertising would have generated additional revenue for school districts.

However, members of the House Education Committee were concerned that people would assume that the ads were endorsed by schools. Others thought that students might be exposed to inappropriate ads.