132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 2159		LR 2971(02)
	An Act to Require School Buses to Be Equipped with and to Use School Bus Crossing Arms
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Transportation
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
State Mandate - Funded
			FY 2025-26	FY 2026-27	Projections  FY 2027-28	Projections  FY 2028-29
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$0	$0	$0	$0
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$5,921,640	$500	$0	$0
Transfers
	General Fund		$0	$0	$0	$0
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$5,921,640	$0	$0	$0
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements
	The additional workload associated with the minimal number of new cases filed in the court system does not require additional funding at this time. The collection of additional fines will increase General Fund or other dedicated revenue by minor amounts.
State Mandates
	Required Activity				Unit Affected	Local Cost
	This bill requires all school buses to be equipped with a school bus crossing arm. School administrative units will need to either purchase new buses or retrofit existing buses in order to meet the requirements of this bill.				School	Significant statewide
	The required local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. If the bill does require a local unit of government to expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine require either: (1) General Fund appropriations be provided to fund at least 90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt the mandate from the funding requirement. If the bill does represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occurs, the local units of government will not be required to implement the mandated activities.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill includes a one-time Other Special Revenue Funds allocation to the Department of Education of $5,921,640 in fiscal year 2025-26 for safety measures including retrofitting nearly 1,700 Maine school buses with crossing arms and anti-pinch door sensors. The bill also includes a transfer of $5,921,640 in fiscal year 2025-26 from the Budget Stabilization Fund, General Fund account to the Maine School Safety Center, Other Special Revenue Funds account for this purpose. The allocated funds are expected to cover at least 90% of the costs for school administrative units to comply with the requirements of this bill. Any additional costs to the Departments of Public Safety and Transportation from the provisions of this bill are expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.