A Tennessee House panel has voted to make the state commit to cover the whole cost of a proposed regulation requiring seat belts in new school buses.
Republican Representative Jeremy Faison of Cosby attached the amendment during a Government Operations Committee meeting Tuesday. The bill stems from a crash that killed six elementary school children in Chattanooga in November.
Faison said local school districts cannot afford the additional cost. In its recent form, the bill would cost school districts an estimated $12.9 million annually and the state $2.2 million annually. The proposed seat belt requirement would apply to new school buses purchased after July 2019.
Bill sponsor Representative JoAnne Favors, a Chattanooga Democrat, said there's still time to work on any potential obstacles in the seat belt proposal.
