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To require the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning seat belts on school buses, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking within 180 days on new Federal standards for seat belt requirements on all new school buses. The proposed rulemaking standards would apply regardless of the school bus's gross vehicle weight rating. The Secretary must consider the safety benefits of lap/shoulder belt systems, conclusions from the National Transportation Safety Board and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on seat belt effectiveness, and innovative seat belt technologies such as detection systems, reminder systems, and violation alert systems. The Secretary must also consider the experience of states that have already implemented seat belt requirements on school buses. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to propose new standards but does not establish final requirements itself.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
2 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Josh Gottheimer’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- BLACKSTONE $116,700
- APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT $71,500
- KKR & CO INC. $50,600
- CENTERVIEW PARTNERS $25,000
- FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP $23,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Josh Gottheimer → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Feb 10, 2026 Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. · house
- Feb 9, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. · house
- Feb 9, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 9, 2026
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning seat belts on school buses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards Act of 2026” or the “SECURES Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. PROPOSED RULEMAKING.
(a) Requirements.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking on new Federal standards for school bus seat belt requirements on all new school buses, regardless of gross vehicle weight rating.
(b) Considerations.—In the proposed rulemaking, the Secretary shall consider—
(1) the safety benefits of a lap/shoulder belt system (also known as a “Type 2 seat belt assembly”);
(2) the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board that “Lap/shoulder belts provide the highest level of protection for school bus passengers” and that “Properly worn lap belts provide some benefit,” while “Properly worn lap/ shoulder belts provide greater benefit by reducing injuries related to upper body flailing”;
(3) the 2015 announcement by the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Mark Rosekind, stating that the agency believes “that every child on every school bus should have a three-point seat belt”;
(4) any innovative approaches to seat belt detection, seat belt reminder systems, and seat belt violation alert systems that could be incorporated into school bus designs; and
(5) existing experience from the States that have already required school buses to be equipped with seat belts. <all>
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