South Carolina Assembly Overrides

Veto, Passes Bus Replacement Bill

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An ongoing saga on updating South Carolina’s aging school bus fleet took an interesting turn when the state House of Representatives and the Senate each overrode a governor veto of a funding bill placing a cap on vehicle age at 15 years and passed it into law.

The South Carolina Legislature originally took a step toward infusing more youth into the state-owned school bus fleet by passing a school transportation omnibus bill requiring vehicles be replaced on a 15-year cycle. The bill would allow the state to purchase approximately 375 new buses each year at a cost of $29.6 million. But Gov. Mark Sanford momentarily quelled those hopes with a June 6 veto, adding that the state should decentralize school transportation operations utilizing private contractors and investigate more cost-effective leasing option.

First the money must be appropriated. Fearing legislaturs would fail to pass a comprehensive state spending bill, Gov. Sanford later signed a bill giving districts $60 million in emergency funds for the new school bus purchase and for fuel costs.

South Carolina is the only state in the nation that owns and maintains its own fleet. The governor recommended that practice soon come to an end, according to his veto message to House Speaker Bobby Harrel, as the bill “reaffirms and furthers the state’s unusual control of our public school transportation system.”

Namely, Sanford said the private sector could more effectively manage and maintain the state fleet. Additionally, more new buses could be introduced into the fleet through leasing, as found last year in an evaluation of the state’s pupil transportation system by The TransPar Group.

But the House and Senate override of the veto served as a message that the state fleet of 5,600 school buses has reached a critical point in terms of age. The state currently replaces buses when it has the money, which happens infrequently. The average bus is 14 years old. The Senate will next consider a veto override during a special session on June 19.

The bill, H3161, passed the House this spring but stalled in the Senate until a compromise was reached just prior to the Memorial Day weekend. Don Tudor, South Carolina’s state director of pupil transportation, said there had been pressure on Gov. Sanford to sign it amid unanimous approval in the Senate.

Specifically, the bus replacement portion of the bill required funds appropriated by the state General Assembly before the State Department of Education could implement the “one-fifteenth” rule, that being the turnover of one-fifteenth of the state’s 5,600 fleet each year. Any appropriated funds would have been earmarked specifically for new bus purchases and could not be used to alleve fuel or maintenance costs.

Other new items covered in the bill include a new School Bus Driver’s Certificate-A that is issued by the State Board of Education for public schools and a Certificate-B for contracted routes; reducing the walking distance from school that students are not eligible for transportation from 1/2 mile to 3/10 of a mile; compliance with the Department of Education annual school bus inspection program, which also covers private vehicles used in school-activity trips. In addition, and “when feasible,” the bill directed the State Department of Education to use biodiesel to fuel its fleet.