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Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
Why Tennessee lawmakers nixed a bill to lower school bus driver age to 23
A proposal to lower the minimum age for school bus drivers from 25 to 23 in an effort to curb the Tennessee's bus driver shortage is dead for the year, after bipartisan concern over student safety. Senate Bill 1042 sought to lower the minimum age to 23 years old. Sponsor Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, said her goal was to 'address the school bus driver shortage across Tennessee' and give school districts more power over who to hire in those positions. She said the legislation would "allow our rural school districts to determine if someone 23 years of age is competent and they have had their CDL for two years ― they would have the ability to hire them." The Senate Transportation Committee voted down the bill 5 to 4 on Wednesday morning, citing concerns about maturity of drivers and student safety. Lawmakers raised the minimum age for school bus drivers following a deadly crash in Chattanooga in November 2016. Then-24-year-old Johnthony Walker lost control of his bus, which rolled over onto the passenger side and wrapped around a tree. Six students from Woodmore Elementary were killed and 32 were injured. Walker was later found guilty on a number of charges, including negligent homicide, related to the accident. 'This age was raised a few years ago due to an accident in Hamilton County,' said Department of Safety Legislative Director Elizabeth Stroeker. 'We would like to keep that promise and that agreement that we brought this bill a few years ago to keep it at 25 to make sure that you've got people who are mature enough to deal with 60 to 70 students on a bus.' State law requires drivers to have a commercial driver's license before pursuing a certification to drive a school bus. According to the department, very few people try to become school bus drivers before age 25. There are currently only 25 drivers in Tennessee who are 25 years old with the proper qualifications to drive school buses. 'The reason you have that low percentage of people in the 20 to 30 age range is that nobody of that age range drives school busses,' Stroeker said. 'We understand that there's a shortage of commercial drivers and school bus drivers – we don't believe this is going to fix that. Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, supported the bill. 'The Army will have 21 year olds driving tanks, commanding people in wartime situations, and I know people that are 40 that I wouldn't say are mature enough to handle driving a school bus, but I do know some people that could,' Pody said. 'I think it should be up to the school board to make that decision.' State law already allows existing school employees and active and retired military veterans to obtain the proper license to drive a school bus. A companion bill has passed through several House committees, and is scheduled for a final House vote on Monday. Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee lawmakers nix bill to lower school bus driver age to 23
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New resolution calls for working group to study Idaho's housing and land use regulations
Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, works on the Senate floor at the State Capitol building on January 8, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) A new resolution introduced in the Idaho Legislature on Tuesday afternoon calls for the creation of a bipartisan working group to study housing availability and affordability, and land use regulations that affect housing. Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, cosponsored the new resolution and presented it Tuesday to the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee. Rabe told legislators serving on the committee that the resolution is modeled after a 2023 Montana working group that came up with bipartisan proposals to address housing affordability and remove regulatory barriers to building new housing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'A better understanding of the effects of land use regulations on housing can guide policymakers, developers, and community leaders in identifying practical and effective strategies to improve housing affordability while maintaining local control and regulatory integrity,' the resolution states. Rabe works as executive director of the Boise-based nonprofit organization Jesse Tree, which provides financial assistance and case management services to families in danger of being evicted. The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee voted to introduce the new resolution Tuesday without any opposition. Introducing the new resolution on Tuesday clears the way for it to return to the committee for a full public hearing. The resolution will be assigned a number and posted publicly to the Idaho Legislature's website after it is read across the desk of the Senate floor, likely late Wednesday morning. Rabe told legislators that the availability of housing is necessary to support the state's economic growth, support Idaho's workforce and strengthen communities. Since pandemic, Montana, Idaho have surpassed California as most unaffordable states for homebuyers This is the second housing bill that Rabe has worked on this session. The first housing bill is Senate Bill 1042, which seeks to ensure that tenants are charged fewer rental application fees, and that application fees can only be charged for rentals that tenants have a likelihood of being considered for. Under Senate Bill 1042, landlords would only be able to charge application fees to two applying tenant households at a time. Senate Bill 1042 was introduced on Jan. 30 and referred to the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. 'The biggest issue there is the cost of housing and Idaho is now considered one of the least affordable housing markets in the United States, and I think it's incumbent on us as state government to try to provide solutions to those problems,' Rabe said in an interview at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. 'It's what people want us to focus on, and it's one of those kitchen table issues that is affecting everyday Idahoans in really big ways. Rising housing costs are causing more people to lose housing. It's causing workforce challenges. It's causing challenges for young people who want to stay in our state and older people who want to age in place. It's affecting everyone in different ways.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
