Proposed Nebraska Bills Call for Seat Belts on School Buses, Mobile Device Crackdown

LINCOLN, Neb. — A state senator has proposed two bills that would call for seat belts on school buses and make it illegal for drivers to use their mobile devices while driving the bus.

Earlier this month, Sen. Robert Hilkemann introduced Legislative Bill 279, which would require school buses manufactured on or after the law goes into effect and purchased on Jan. 1, 2018 or later to be equipped with lap-shoulder belts, for school transportation providers to make lap-shoulder belts or lap belts available and provide instruction on using the belts.  

The senator also introduced Legislative Bill 40, which would prohibit use of wireless communication devices by school bus drivers while they are operating the bus. The proposed bill does not apply to dispatch communication devices.

Both proposed bills will head to the transportation committee for discussion, and will then go to the full legislature for a vote, NTV reports.

Hilkemann also proposed a school bus seat belt law in 2015, but it failed to advance from the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, according to Lincoln Journal-Star.