Rollover Brings Bus Seatbelt Bill to Forefront

Intro: Tuesday's bus rollover in Jefferson County sparked debate among legislators over the importance of seatbelts on buses. Micah Wiener has more from the state Capitol.

A bill that requires all school buses in Missouri to be equipped with seatbelts, is drawing attention following Tuesday's rollover south of St. Louis.

The bill would take affect January of 2008 and would require school districts to phase in busses *with* a three point seatbelt for each student.

Sam Page is a Democratic Representative from St. Louis County who co-sponsored the bill.

He says the state should help school districts pay for the additional safety measures.

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Description: "It's just common sense that kids in school buses should have a chance to wear seatbelts, and rollover accidents are just an example.

Some school districts say they would be burdened by the cost of installing the belts.

Proponents of the bill say an increase in the value of traffic tickets would help cover some of the cost.

From Jefferson City, I'm Micah Wiener.

Intro: Tuesday's school bus rollover sparked debate of a bill requiring all new buses have three point seatbelts for all students on board. Micah Wiener reports why the new bill faces several challenges.

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When the news of Tuesday morning's school bus rollover reached the capitol, many focused on a new bi-partisan bill requiring seat belts on all new Missouri school buses.

The bill is sponsored by Liberty Republican Tim Flook, and co-sponsored by St. Louis area Democrat Sam Page.

Terry Noble is superintendant for De Soto Public Schools.

He says his district would be over-burdened by increasing the costs of student transportation.

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Description: "We have plenty of un-funded mandates already from the State and Federal government and we really don't need any more of those, and the past few years the state has reduced the amount of funding that it contributed to transportation."

Passing the bill may be difficult, considering the same representatives sponsored a similar bill last year which died before reaching the House floor.

From the state Capitol, I'm Micah Wiener.