LD 2159

132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
  SECOND REGULAR SESSION-2026
Legislative Document  No. 2159
H.P. 1448  House of Representatives, January 13, 2026
  An Act to Require School Buses to Be Equipped with and to Use
  School Bus Crossing Arms
  (AFTER DEADLINE)
  (EMERGENCY)
   Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule
205.
   Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
  ROBERT B. HUNT
  Clerk
Presented by Representative GEIGER of Rockland.
  Printed on recycled paper
1    Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not
2 become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
3     Whereas, current law does not require school buses of model year 2020 or older to
4 be equipped with a school bus crossing arm; and
5      Whereas, for those school buses that are equipped with a school bus crossing arm,
6 current law does not require the school bus crossing arm to be activated while a school bus
7 is receiving and discharging passengers; and
8     Whereas, requiring school bus crossing arms on all school buses and requiring the
9 school bus crossing arm to be activated while a school bus is receiving and discharging
10 passengers will result in greater safety for children who travel to and from school on school
11 buses; and
12     Whereas, the safety of children is of paramount importance, and this legislation must
13 take effect immediately to protect children; and
14     Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within
15 the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as
16 immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now,
17 therefore,
18 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
19     Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2302, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 413, §2, is
20 amended to read:
21     1-A. School bus crossing arms. A school bus of model year 2021 or newer must be
22 equipped with a school bus crossing arm.
23     Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §2306-A is enacted to read:
24 §2306-A. Required use of school bus crossing arm
25     1. Required use. The operator of a school bus equipped with a school bus crossing
26 arm shall activate the school bus crossing arm while the school bus is stopped to receive or
27 discharge passengers.
28     2. Violation. A person commits a Class E crime if that person, while operating a
29 school bus, fails to activate a school bus crossing arm as required by subsection 1.
30     3. Suspension. On conviction of an operator of failure to activate a school bus
31 crossing arm, the Secretary of State shall revoke the operator's school bus operator
32 endorsement issued pursuant to section 2303 for a period of not less than 2 years.
33     Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation
34 takes effect when approved.
35SUMMARY
36      This bill requires all school buses to be equipped with a school bus crossing arm and
37 requires the operator of a school bus to activate the school bus crossing arm while the bus
38 is stopped to receive or discharge passengers. The bill provides that the penalty for not
39 activating a school bus crossing arm is a Class E crime and requires the Secretary of State
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1 to revoke the operator's endorsement to operate a school bus for a period of not less than 2
41
2 years. The penalty is the same penalty that applies to failure of a school bus operator to
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3 stop at a railroad track crossing.
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