Bill for Seat Belts on Connecticut Buses Clears Senate

A bill that provides Connecticut school districts with a financial incentive to buy school buses with seat belts is heading to the governor.

The Senate gave the bill final legislative approval late Tuesday night.

The legislation makes it optional for public school districts to have the three-point seat belts for students.

Schools that buy new buses with seat belts could receive rebates of 50 percent of the state sales tax. For a $100,000 bus, that could be $3,000.

The bill stems from the January death of 16-year-old high school student in a Hartford bus accident.

The student and his schoolmates were traveling to a weekend robotics competition when their bus dropped down a 20-foot embankment. His parents say he could have survived the crash if he had been wearing a seat belt.