87R10317 TBO-D     By: Harris H.C.R. No. 48       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Each day, more than 26 million students rely on   school buses for safe transportation, and many school districts   have experienced difficulty in keeping up with this demand due to   federal licensing requirements that have exacerbated the shortage   of school bus drivers; and          WHEREAS, Part 383 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires   school bus drivers to obtain a Commercial Driver's License, but the   application process has included unnecessary obstacles to meeting   this obligation; for example, the testing and training portions of   the CDL application were previously handled by different   third-party skills examiners, which limited applicants' ability to   complete the exams if they did not have access to both a tester and a   trainer; a recent change to this rule helps states streamline the   process of obtaining a CDL by allowing the same examiner to both   test and train an applicant, revealing that with less federal   interference, states can license school bus drivers more   efficiently; and          WHEREAS, According to a survey conducted by School Bus Fleet   Magazine, most school districts have endured some degree of bus   driver shortage, and data from the National Association for Pupil   Transportation reveals that many school districts consider CDL   requirements to be a major factor in their ability to recruit and   retain bus drivers; one Texas school district has successfully   overcome its shortage, but only through costly training programs   that compensate new drivers as they complete the CDL application;   and          WHEREAS, School districts that provide valuable   transportation services are burdened by a flawed federal system   with inefficient licensing requirements, and Congress should solve   this problem by allowing states to establish regulations according   to their own needs; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass   legislation that would grant licensing authority for public school   bus drivers to the states; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.