MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- One of the first bills proposed in reaction to the Connecticut school shootings would strengthen penalties for trespassing on Alabama school buses.

The bill pre-filed by Republican Sen. Cam Ward of Alabaster would establish a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison if convicted.

The bill would make it a crime for an unauthorized adult to board a school bus. The bill also would make it a crime to vandalize a bus or to enter a bus for the purpose of doing damage. Ward says the proposed law would make it harder for someone to harm children on a school bus.

Ward says there is currently very little penalty for an unauthorized adult entering a school bus.

AP-WF-01-12-13 1420GMT