Z-0867

AN ACT Relating to school bus replacement for public school districts; amending RCW 28A.160.200; adding new sections to chapter 28A.160 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.160.200 and 1990 c 33 s 146 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall allocate state funds for the purpose of supporting, in whole or in part, the purchase of new school buses to replace school buses owned by school districts or educational service districts. The superintendent shall require that state funds allocated for bus replacement be applied only to the purchase of new school buses, except as provided in section 2 of this 1991 act, and shall require that each school bus purchased in whole or in part with state funds result in removal from service of an eligible school bus. Each school bus eligible for replacement in whole or in part with state funds shall be owned by a school district or educational service district, be beyond the useful life as established by the superintendent, and have a valid school bus operating permit issued by the superintendent.

(2) The superintendent may adopt rules necessary to implement a school bus fleet replacement program designed to maintain a state-wide school bus fleet that meets contemporary standards for school bus design and manufacture.

(3) The superintendent shall determine ((~~the vehicle acquisition~~)) school district or educational service district allocations for replacement of school buses in the following manner:

(((1) By May 1st of each year, the superintendent shall develop preliminary categories of student transportation vehicles to ensure adequate student transportation fleets for districts. The superintendent shall take into consideration the types of vehicles purchased by individual school districts in the state. The categories shall include, but not be limited to, variables such as vehicle capacity, type of chassis, type of fuel, engine and body type, special equipment, and life of vehicle. The categories shall be developed in conjunction with the local districts and shall be applicable to the following school year. The categories shall be designed to produce minimum long-range operating costs, including costs of equipment and all costs incurred in operating the vehicles. Each category description shall include the estimated state-determined purchase price, which shall be based on the actual costs of the vehicles purchased for that comparable category in the state during the preceding twelve months and the anticipated market price for the next school fiscal year. By June 15th of each year, the superintendent shall notify districts of the preliminary vehicle categories and state-determined purchase price for the ensuing school year. By October 15th of each year, the superintendent shall finalize the categories and the associated state-determined purchase price and shall notify districts of any changes. While it is the responsibility of each district to select each student transportation vehicle to be purchased by the district, each district shall be paid a sum based only on the amount of the state-determined purchase price and inflation as recognized by the reimbursement schedule established in this section as set by the superintendent for the category of vehicle purchased.

(2) The superintendent shall develop a reimbursement schedule to pay districts for the cost of student transportation vehicles purchased after September 1, 1982. The accumulated value of the payments and the potential investment return thereon shall be designed to be equal to the replacement value of the vehicle less its salvage value at the end of its anticipated lifetime. The superintendent shall revise at least annually the reimbursement payments based on the current and anticipated future cost of comparable categories of transportation equipment. Reimbursements to school districts for approved transportation equipment shall be placed in a separate vehicle transportation fund established for each school district under RCW 28A.160.130. However, educational service districts providing student transportation services pursuant to RCW 28A.310.180(4) and receiving moneys generated pursuant to this section shall establish and maintain a separate vehicle transportation account in the educational service district's general expense fund for the purposes and subject to the conditions under RCW 28A.160.130 and 28A.320.300.

(3) To the extent possible, districts shall operate vehicles acquired under this section not less than the number of years or useful lifetime now, or hereafter, assigned to the class of vehicles by the superintendent. School districts shall properly maintain the transportation equipment acquired under the provisions of this section, in accordance with rules established by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. If a district fails to follow generally accepted standards of maintenance and operation, the superintendent of public instruction shall penalize the district by deducting from future reimbursements under this section an amount equal to the original cost of the vehicle multiplied by the fraction of the useful lifetime or miles the vehicle failed to operate.

(4) The superintendent shall annually develop a depreciation schedule to recognize the cost of depreciation to districts contracting with private carriers for student transportation. Payments on this schedule shall be a straight line depreciation based on the original cost of the appropriate category of vehicle.))

(a) The superintendent shall establish school bus bid specifications eligible for state funding support, and optional school bus bid specifications that may be selected and funded by local school districts. School bus bid specifications shall be developed in concert with representatives of school districts and shall be structured to stimulate competition among vendors.

(b) The superintendent shall annually review eligible school buses and determine the number of school buses each school district is entitled to purchase with state funding during each fiscal year. School district annual entitlement to state-funded school bus replacement shall be the lesser of: (i) Bus replacement credit earned; or (ii) the number of eligible school buses. As used in this section, "bus replacement credit earned" means the whole number of buses without regard to partial remainder of the sum of each fraction that one year is to the scheduled life of each school bus owned by school districts or educational service districts. Bus replacement credit earned but not used in a fiscal year and each partial remainder shall carry forward to the succeeding fiscal year.

(c) The superintendent shall annually announce bus replacement entitlement for each school district. Each school district shall notify the superintendent of each eligible school bus the school district has selected for replacement, along with general descriptive characteristics of the bus to be purchased as its replacement. School districts shall be required to give first priority to eligible school buses manufactured before April 1, 1977.

(d) The superintendent or his or her designee shall sponsor voluntary bus purchase bid pools throughout the state. The formation of sponsored bid pools shall be determined by the locations of districts electing to participate and the numbers of buses with common bid characteristics.

(e) The superintendent or his or her designee shall announce locations and times of sponsored bid pools where school districts may convene for the purposes of finalizing school bus bid specifications and issuing calls for bids. School districts shall be required to waive their right of cancellation or withdrawal from commitments expressed or implied in sponsored pooled calls for bids.

(f) School districts participating in bus purchase bid pools sponsored by the superintendent may replace an eligible school bus with a school bus of similar or different type, capacity, or other characteristic, however state funding shall be limited to the accepted bid price obtained for eligible specifications of a bus of similar characteristics to the bus being replaced or actual purchase cost of eligible specifications, whichever is less. Districts not participating in bus purchase bid pooling sponsored by the superintendent shall have each eligible school bus replacement purchase funded as if such purchase were made through the bid pool sponsored by the superintendent and made available to the district for replacement of the eligible school bus.

(g) The superintendent shall make one payment of all state funds due for each eligible school bus replaced, which payment shall be made on notice of delivery and acceptance of the bus by the purchasing school district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.160 RCW to read as follows:

The superintendent may make payments to school districts pursuant to RCW 28A.160.200, in lieu of the purchase of new school buses, for the purpose of liquidating indebtedness incurred for the purchase of school buses entered into before the effective date of this section. However, amounts paid in lieu of purchase of buses shall not exceed forty percent of the school district's bus replacement credit earned for the year, and payments in lieu of purchase of school buses shall not continue longer than four years from the effective date of this section. School districts electing to receive state funds to liquidate prior school bus indebtedness in lieu of the purchase of school buses shall submit to the superintendent, for approval, a plan that includes schedules of debt retirement and new bus purchases. Payments to school districts for approved transportation equipment shall be placed in a separate transportation vehicle fund established for each school district under RCW 28A.160.130. However, educational service districts providing student transportation services pursuant to RCW 28A.310.180(4) and receiving moneys generated pursuant to this section shall establish and maintain a separate vehicle transportation account in the educational service district's general expense fund for the purposes and subject to the conditions under RCW 28A.160.130 and 28A.320.300.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.160 RCW to read as follows:

The superintendent shall annually develop a depreciation schedule to recognize the cost of school bus depreciation to districts that contract with private carriers for student transportation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.160 RCW to read as follows:

The superintendent shall revoke the operating permit for each school bus replaced in whole or in part with state funds, and shall ensure that no operating permit is reissued for such school bus.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.160 RCW to read as follows:

Sections 2 through 4 of this act supersede all prior responsibilities of the state to provide school bus replacement or depreciation payments to school districts for school bus purchases as of the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act shall take effect September 1, 1991.