BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 929
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: evans
VERSION: 4/25/11
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: May 3, 2011
SUBJECT:
Vehicles: child passengers
DESCRIPTION:
This bill provides that a child who is six years of age or
younger or who weighs less than 60 pounds may be seated in the
front seat of a vehicle when all of the back seats are already
occupied by children under age eight.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law prohibits a parent or guardian from transporting a
child who is six years of age or younger or who weighs less than
60 pounds in a motor vehicle unless that child is in a
federally-approved child safety seat in the rear seat of the
vehicle. When a parent or guardian is not present, then this
responsibility falls to the driver of the vehicle.
A child under six or 60 pounds may be transported in the front
seat of a vehicle if:
there is no rear seat;
the rear seats are side-facing jump seats;
the rear seats are rear-facing seats;
the child seat cannot be installed properly in the rear
seat;
medical reasons necessitate that the child cannot ride in
the rear seat; or
all the rear seats are occupied by other children under
age 12.
In no case may a child who is under one year of age, 20 pounds,
or riding in a rear-facing child seat be seated in a front seat
SB 929 (EVANS) Page 2
with an active passenger air bag.
This bill :
1.Allows a child who is six years of age or younger or who
weighs less than 60 pounds to be seated in the front seat when
all of the back seats are already occupied by children under
age eight, rather than age 12.
2.Deletes obsolete provisions of law related to child safety
seats and seatbelts.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . Existing law permits a young child (ages one to six)
to be seated in the front seat when all the rear seats are
occupied by children who are as old as age 11. The Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia reports that children who are in the
front seat are 40 percent more likely to be injured than
children in the rear seat of a motor vehicle. Having a
two-year old or a five-year old in the front seat, in lieu of
an eleven year old, therefore, makes little sense from a
safety perspective, given that younger children are more
vulnerable in the event of a collision. This bill corrects
the error in existing law that allows this seating arrangement
to occur legally.
2.Previous legislation . Last session, SB 177 (Lowenthal) passed
this committee by a 7 to 4 vote on March 31, 2009 and was
nearly identical to this bill. That bill passed the Senate,
but it was never heard in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
In two previous sessions, AB 2108 (Evans) of 2006 and AB 881
(Mullin) of 2007 each included a provision allowing children
under age six to be seated in the front seat only if all the
rear seats are occupied by children under age six. Those
bills' primary change to existing law, however, was to
increase to eight the age at which children are required to
ride in a child safety seat. Because of that provision,
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2108 in 2006 and then AB 881
the next year.
3.Double referral . Based on the introduced version of this bill
SB 929 (EVANS) Page 3
relating to a local vehicle license fee, the Rules Committee
referred this bill to both the Transportation and Housing
Committee and to the Governance and Finance Committee.
Therefore, should this bill pass this committee, it will be
referred to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 27,
2011)
SUPPORT: None received.
OPPOSED: None received.