SACRAMENTO, Calif. The California General Assembly is considering adopting what may be the toughest charter bus regulatory legislation ever proposed in the U.S.

Passage of the bill is being advocated by the California Bus Association because it wants to weed out substandard companies, says CBA lobbyist Josh Pane.

As currently written, Assembly Bill 636 would:

Permanently revoke the authority of a charter bus company to operate if it is found to be running without the required state Public Utilities Commission permit, or if it knowingly employs a driver who does not have the required CDL with proper endorsement and medical certificate.

Permanently prohibit a person who drives for a charter bus company without the required CDL, endorsement and medical certificate from driving a bus of any kind.

Require an officer of the California Highway Patrol to impound a bus upon inspection if the charter bus company or its driver are found to be operating without the required documentation, certification or licensure.

The proposed law was prompted by a coach crash in October that killed 10 people, including the bus owner, and injured 40 others.

The subsequent investigation found that neither the bus nor the driver should have been on the road. The bus had been declared non-operational five months earlier and the driver didnt have a passenger endorsement.

According to the California Bus Association, the operator was one of many "fly-by-night" charter bus companies in the state that run in disregard of licensing and other legal requirements, posing a threat to public safety.

Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission and partner agencies issued 36 misdemeanor warnings, during the course of only 10 investigations, to charter bus companies for operating without a valid permit.

"Thus, AB 636 introduces a one-strike approach for the charter bus industry in order to protect passengers and other drivers from these dangerous rogue operators," said assembly member Dave Jones of Sacramento, who introduced the legislation.

Jones and fellow Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Torrance say todays penalties aren't enough to deter some motorcoach companies that put profits ahead of passenger safety. Jones' bill would give bus companies no second chances if they knowingly use improperly licensed drivers or buses.

The bill has no opposition and passage seems certain.