BILL NUMBER: SB 255 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 16, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 5, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 25, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Speier
(Coauthor: Senator Romero)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Dutra, Firebaugh, and Shelley)
FEBRUARY 15, 2001
An act to add Division 6.7 (commencing with Section 15600) to the
Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 255, as amended, Speier. Crimes: unattended children in
vehicles.
(1) Existing law makes it a crime for any person, under
circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or
death, to willfully cause or permit any child to suffer, or inflict
thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having
the care or custody of any child, willfully cause or permit the
person or health of that child to be injured, or willfully cause or
permit that child to be placed in a situation where his or her person
or health is endangered. This crime is required to be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state
prison for 2, 4, or 6 years.
This bill would additionally make it an infraction, punishable by
a fine of $100, except that the court would be authorized to reduce
or waive the fine if the defendant is economically disadvantaged and
attends a community education program, if available, as
specified, for the parent, legal guardian, or other person
responsible for a child who is 6 years of age or younger to leave
that child inside a motor vehicle, without being subject to the
supervision of a person who is 12 years of age or older, and where
there are conditions that present a significant risk to the child's
health or safety or when the vehicle's engine is running or the
vehicle's keys are in the ignition, or both. This bill would provide
that the infraction provision would not apply if an unattended child
is injured or medical services are rendered.
The bill thereby would impose a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime.
The bill would require that 60% of the revenue collected from
fines imposed under these provisions be allocated by the county
treasurer to the county or city health department where the violation
occurred, to be used for the development and implementation of
community education programs on the dangers of leaving young children
unattended in motor vehicles; 25% be allocated to the county or city
for the administration of the program; and 15% be allocated to the
city, to be deposited in its general fund except that, if the
violation occurred in an unincorporated area, this amount would be
allocated to the county for the community education programs
described above. Because this would increase the level of service
required by the county treasurer, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the department to include information
concerning the dangers of leaving children unattended in motor
vehicles, including the effect of solar heat on the temperature of
vehicle interiors and the penalties for noncompliance with the
provisions specified above, in specified materials distributed by the
department.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Leaving young children unattended in motor vehicles has caused
serious health and safety harm to children and is an unacceptable
public health and safety hazard.
(b) The dangers of leaving young children unattended in motor
vehicles include possible child access to ignition, brakes, clutch
and gear shift lever, and other parts of the vehicle that could cause
uncontrolled vehicular movement, exposure of the child to extreme
cold or heat in those vehicles, and other dangers.
(c) Prior instances where young children have been left unattended
in or around motor vehicles have resulted in serious injury or
death, with no less than 60 fatalities in this state.
(d) It is well established that educational approaches, including
promotional materials and television, radio, and print advertising,
by themselves, do not improve safety behavior. Only when the
educational approach is integrated with enforcement activities are
they effective. The report of the January 2001 Seat Belt Summit,
issued by the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety Inc., an
organization composed of the major United States automobile
manufacturers, supports this fact. That report found that the use of
vehicle seat belts significantly increased when a law required their
use, established a monetary penalty, and the public believed that
the law was being enforced. The report concludes that advertising
programs without an enforcement program should not be used. Other
groups, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, have also concluded
that information and educational campaigns without enforcement
provisions are not effective.
(e) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to improve
vehicle safety for children by both educating the public about the
danger of leaving a young child alone in a motor vehicle in
circumstances that pose a life safety risk, and discouraging this
dangerous conduct by imposing a monetary fine upon persons who engage
in this conduct.
SEC. 2. Division 6.7 (commencing with Section 15600) is added to
the Vehicle Code, to read:
DIVISION 6.7. UNATTENDED CHILD IN MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
15600. This division shall be known and may be cited as "Kaitlyn'
s Law."
15602. This division applies to motor vehicles upon the highways
and elsewhere throughout the state unless expressly provided
otherwise.
15603. The purpose of this division is to help prevent injuries
to, and the death of, young children from the effects of being left
alone in a motor vehicle, to help educate parents and caretakers
about the dangers of leaving children alone in a motor vehicle, and
to authorize a monetary fine to be imposed on a person for leaving a
young child alone in a motor vehicle in circumstances that pose a
life safety risk.
CHAPTER 2. OFFENSES
15620. (a) A parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible
for a child who is 6 years of age or younger may not leave that child
inside a motor vehicle without being subject to the supervision of a
person who is 12 years of age or older, under either of the
following circumstances:
(1) Where there are conditions that present a significant risk to
the child's health or safety.
(2) When the vehicles's engine is running or the vehicle's keys
are in the ignition, or both.
(b) A violation of subdivision (a) is an infraction punishable by
a fine of one hundred dollars ($100), except that the court may
reduce or waive the fine if the defendant establishes to the
satisfaction of the court that he or she is economically
disadvantaged and the court, instead, refers the defendant to a
community education program that includes education on the dangers of
leaving young children unattended in motor vehicles, and provides
certification of completion of that program. Upon completion of that
program, the defendant shall provide that certification to the
court. If an education program on the dangers of leaving
young children unattended in motor vehicles is not available within
50 miles of the residence of the defendant, the requirement to
participate in that program shall be waived. The The
court may, at its discretion, require any defendant described
in this section to attend an education program on the dangers of
leaving young children unattended in motor vehicles.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and Section 192 of the Penal Code, or Section 273a of
that code, or any other provision of law.
(d) (1) Subdivision (b) does not apply if an unattended child is
injured or medical services are rendered on that child because of a
violation described in subdivision (a).
(2) Nothing in this subdivision precludes prosecution under any
other provision of law.
CHAPTER 3. EDUCATIONAL PROVISIONS
15630. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the fines
collected for a violation of this division shall be allocated by the
county treasurer, as follows:
(a) Sixty percent to the county or city health department where
the violation occurred, to be used for the development and
implementation of community education programs on the dangers of
leaving young children unattended in motor vehicles.
(b) Twenty-five percent to the county or city for the
administration of the program.
(c) Fifteen percent to the city, to be deposited in its general
fund except that, if the violation occurred in an unincorporated
area, this amount shall be allocated to the county for purposes of
subdivision (a).
15632. (a) The department shall include information concerning
the dangers of leaving children unattended in motor vehicles,
including, but not limited to, the effect of solar heat on the
temperature of vehicle interiors and the penalties for noncompliance
with Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15620), in the following
educational materials distributed by the
department:
(1) The California Driver's Handbook published under subdivision
(b) of Section 1656.
(2) The driver's license examination administered under Section
12804.9 , by including, on a rotating basis, at least one
question in one version of the driver's license examination that is
periodically administered to applicants .
(3) Any driver's education materials certified by the department.
(4) Courses and examinations for traffic violator schools.
(5) Materials provided to secondary and post-secondary schools and
educational institutions.
(6) Any materials provided to community education campaigns
undertaken by the department and other state agencies, including, but
not limited to, the Department of the California Highway Patrol and
the Department of Transportation.
(b) The department shall not republish materials before existing
supplies are exhausted, but shall arrange for compliance with this
section in the next edition or publication of those materials in the
normal course of business.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because in that regard this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.