Transportation

SB 699 modifies school transportation rules to allow more flexible options. It lowers the standard passenger limit for school buses from 14 to 9 or fewer people (excluding the driver) and creates a new emergency process: school boards can request temporary transportation for 10+ passengers if regular service is unavailable, requiring approval from the transportation secretary. The bill also specifies insurance requirements, mandating minimum $10,000 property damage and $25,000 bodily injury coverage for non-school-owned vehicles carrying 9 or fewer passengers. These changes directly affect school districts, bus contractors, and private providers offering pupil transportation services.

AB 737 allows municipalities to establish neighborhood improvement districts that can impose special property charges to fund infrastructure directly related to residential development within those neighborhoods. Property owners in designated districts would pay these charges, which can be collected in installments over time and included in regular tax bills, rather than requiring delinquency. The bill requires districts to specify exactly which infrastructure projects the funds will support and how charges are calculated per parcel, while allowing exemptions from notice requirements if a single owner holds all properties in the district. This legislation affects local property owners and municipalities by creating a new mechanism for financing neighborhood-specific infrastructure improvements through targeted assessments.