HARTFORD, Conn. — A bill that sets new penalties for filing false reports about the maintenance of school buses has been approved by Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell.

Rell announced Sunday that she had signed the legislation into law. It makes a number of changes related to the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

In the realm of pupil transportation, the new law imposes a $2,500 penalty on anyone who falsifies a report on the maintenance of a school bus or removes an out-of-service sticker on a bus and uses it to transport students.

“Safety is a top priority for any parent whose child rides a school bus,” Rell said in announcing her approval of the bill.

The Day reported that in February, an employee of a bus company that transports students in Ledyard, Conn., was fired when a DMV employee found that records had been falsified.

Another provision in the DMV legislation is a requirement that people convicted of DUI for the second time in 10 years have ignition interlock devices installed on their vehicles.

“The device will not allow the car to be started if it detects alcohol on the breath of the driver,” Rell said. “Drunk driving is a serious crime, and repeat offenders must be held to the strictest standards.”

The new law also requires that background checks be performed on DMV workers involved in issuing driver’s licenses or ID cards.

Another provision aligns the state penalty with the federal penalty for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial vehicle with an out-of-service order. This will ensure that as the federal penalty increases, the state fine will increase as well, Rell said.