An Act To Provide Greater Options for Transportation of Public School Students for Cocurricular Activities
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1327
Committee Amendment CA_A_H625 (House)
Amends: 29-A MRSA §2301, 29-A MRSA §2310, 29-A MRSA §2452

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 951, L.D. 1327, Bill, "An Act To 
Provide Greater Options for Transportation of Public School Students for Cocurricular 
Activities" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2301, sub-§l-C is enacted to read: 
l-C. Multifunction school activity bus. "Multifunction school activity bus" means 
a noncommercial motor vehicle that: 
A. Is designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers including the driver; 
B. Meets all the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards of 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 571, as amended, that are applicable to multifunction school 
activity buses; 
C. Meets all provisions of this Title pertaining to school buses, except for section 
2302, subsection 1, paragraphs A to E and G and H; section 2304; and section 2308; 
D. Is clearly marked with the words "students aboard"; 
E. Has all emergency exits clearly marked; and 
F. Is clearly marked with the school administrative unit or school district name. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §2310, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected 
by Pt. B, §5, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
§2310. Other permitted uses for buses 
A bus may be used for school activities other than conveying students to and from 
home and school if: 
1. Carrying capacity of 40 or more passengers. The bus has a carrying capacity of 
or more passengers and is operated by a motor carrier holding an operator's permit 
issued by the Bureau of State Police and is integrally constructed; or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A' to H.P. 951, L.D. 1327 
2. Multifunction school activity bus. The bus is a multifunction school activity bus 
that is operated by a driver with a school bus operator endorsement pursuant to section 
2303 that is appropriate for the number of passengers and gross vehicle weight rating. A 
driver of a multifunction school activity bus must comply with all applicable school bus 
operator requirements of this Title. 
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §2452, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read: 
1. Permanent revocation. Permanently revoke the school bus operator endorsement 
of any person convicted of OUI who operated a school 9f bus, private school activity bus 
or multifunction school activity bus, as defined in section 2301, during the commission of 
the offense;' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. It allows multifunction school activity buses to be 
used for the transportation of students for school activities, other than conveying them to 
and from home and school, in order to provide a means of transporting students without 
the buses' having to adhere to certain requirements of school buses, such as a system of 
stop arms, the use of warning lamps and the use of national school bus yellow paint. This 
amendment limits the carrying capacity of a multifunction school activity bus to 15 or 
fewer passengers, including the driver, requires the operator to have the appropriate 
school bus endorsement for the number of passengers and gross vehicle weight rating and 
defines the term "multifunction school activity bus." 
This amendment requires a 
multifunction school activity bus to have markings indicating that students are aboard, the 
school district or administrative unit associated with the multifunction school activity bus 
and the location of emergency exits. This amendment also provides that an operator of a 
multifunction school activity bus who is convicted of an OUI while operating a 
multifunction school activity bus will have that operator's school bus operator 
endorsement permanently revoked. Lastly, this amendment requires that a multifunction 
school activity bus meet all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards of 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations, Part 571 pertaining to this subcategory of buses. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT