BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 929
Page 1
`Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 929 (Evans) - As Amended: June 20, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 26-12
SUBJECT : Vehicles: child passenger restraints
SUMMARY : Mandates that children remain in booster seats an
additional two years until they reach age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches
(4' 9") tall or taller. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that
the lower (lap) portion of the belt crosses the hips or upper
thighs of the occupant and the upper (shoulder) portion of the
belt, if present, crosses the chest in front of the occupant.
2)Repeals and recasts provisions prohibiting the transport of a
child under six years of age who weighs less than 60 pounds
without being properly secured in a child safety seat and
instead requires that a child be transported in a child safety
seat until age 8.
3)Exempts children under age 8 from the requirement to ride in a
child safety seat if that child is 4'9" tall or taller before
his or her 8th birthday.
4)Eliminates the requirement for local governments to provide
low cost or loaner child passenger safety restraints to
persons found in violation of child safety seat laws.
5)Removes the requirement prohibiting infants from riding in the
front seat of a car with an active air bag if they are one
year of age or under 20 pounds and instead specifies that no
child may ride in the front seat of a car with an active air
bag if they are in a rear facing child passenger restraint.
6)Finds and declares that this bill allows the state to become
eligible for federal grants pursuant to Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
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7) Makes related, clarifying amendments.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding the benefits of
seatbelt use.
2)Requires children to ride properly in the back seat, in a
safety seat or booster until they are at least 6 years old or
weigh at least 60 pounds.
3)Authorizes children under age 6 who weigh less than 60 pounds
to ride in the front seat if there is no forward facing rear
seat in the vehicle; the child restraint cannot be properly
installed in a rear seat; all rear seats are occupied by other
children under age 12; or for medical reasons.
4)Authorizes children under age 6 who weigh over 40 pounds to
wear a lap-only belt in the back seat if the vehicle has no
shoulder belts in the back seat.
5)Prohibits an infant from riding in the front seat of a car
with an active air bag if they are less than one year of age
or less than 20 or riding in a rear-facing child passenger
restrain system.
6)Prohibits the operator of a limousine, taxicab or emergency
vehicle from transporting passengers under 6 years of age in
the front seat.
7)Authorizes a law enforcement officer to stop a vehicle if the
officer suspects that a child is being transported in
violation of child restraint requirements.
8)Requires hospitals, clinics, and birthing centers to provide
information about current child safety restraint laws to
parents or persons to whom a child is being released.
9)Requires car rental agencies in California to inform customers
of current child safety restraint laws, as specified.
10)Provides for fines and penalties for failure to comply with
the seatbelt law including a $100 fine for the first offense
and second and subsequent offenses levied at $250.
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11)Provides that a portion of the fines and penalties assessed
for child passenger restraint violations be used by county or
city health departments, where the violation occurred, for
education programs to demonstrate proper installation and use
of child passenger restrain systems for children of all ages
and for loan or low-cost purchase of child restraints.
12)Requires the county or city health department to designate a
coordinator to facilitate the creation of an account to be
used for the transfer of community education and assistance
program funds.
13)Requires a person to attend a program demonstrating proper
installation and use of a child safety seat prior to obtaining
a child safety seat from a community assistance program.
14)Requires, as funds from fines become available, a county or
city health department to maintain a listing of all child
safety seat low-cost purchase or loaner programs in their
county including a semiannual verification that all programs
listed are in existence.
15)Requires each county to forward the listing to the Office of
Traffic Safety in the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency (BT&H), the courts, and all specified community centers
and programs.
16)Requires BT&H, the courts and all specified community centers
and programs to make the listing available to the public.
17)Requires the Office of Traffic Safety in BT&H to maintain a
listing of all programs in the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, California's child passenger
safety laws do not adequately protect children ages 6 and 7. By
introducing this bill, the author intends to save children's
lives and prevent injuries by mandating that children remain in
booster seats an additional two years, until they turn 8 years
old. The author cites that under this bill, parents who
currently own booster seats for children under age 6 could
simply use the same booster seat for that child until he or she
turns 8 years old or until the child reaches 4' 9" in height.
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The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends that children who have outgrown car seats
with an internal harness (usually at about four years old),
continue to ride in booster seats until they reach age 8 years
or until they are 4' 9" tall or taller, since booster seats help
to ensure that the safety belt is positioned properly across the
child and restrains, rather than injures, the child when an
accident occurs.
The cost of a booster seat typically ranges between $15 and $45.
Despite this relatively low cost, booster seats, when used for
children ages 4 to 8 years old, can substantially reduce the
risk of injury and death when a vehicle is involved in a crash.
The child advocacy group, Partners for Child Passenger Safety
(PCPS), reports that car crash injuries are the leading cause of
death and acquired disability in children between ages 4 and 8.
PCPS reports that children ages 4 through 7 in states with
booster seat laws are 39 % more likely to be appropriately
restrained in a booster seat or child safety seat than children
in states without such laws. PCPS also cites statistics showing
that booster seat use for children ages 4 through 7 decreases
the risk of injury by 59 % as compared to the use of seat belts
alone.
Moreover, by requiring children to use booster seats for an
additional two years, California would become eligible for
federal transportation funds under SAFETEA-LU for public
education programs and programs to provide no-cost and low-cost
booster seats to families in need. While funding varies from
year to year based on the number of applicants, overall grant
funding available in prior years has ranged from $6 to $7
million per year.
The author notes that, to date, 38 states and the District of
Columbia have enacted provisions in their child passenger safety
laws to address the use of booster seats for children who have
outgrown their child safety seats but are too small to use an
adult seat belt safely. In fact, the Legislature twice past
legislation (Evans, AB 2108 of 2006) and (Mullin, AB 881 of
2007) requiring the use of booster seats until a child reaches
age 8 or 4' 9" in height. Then-Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed
both bills. In his veto messages, the Governor who cited the
need to work towards compliance with existing requirements
rather than to enact new requirements as his reason for vetoing
the bills.
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Arguably, there have been efforts by the California Highway
Patrol (CHP) to further increase compliance with existing
seatbelt laws. CHP officers have executed a variety of
campaigns in recent years to increase awareness regarding the
importance of seat belt use for both children and adults. Funds
for the campaign have been provided by the Office of Traffic
Safety, specifically to fund overtime CHP officers to patrol
roads and find drivers or passengers who are in violation of the
seat belt laws or child safety restraint laws.
Related legislation : SB 42 (Speier) Chapter 84, Statutes of
2001, required children less than six years of age or weighing
less than 60 pounds to use a booster seat.
AB 1697 (Pavley) Chapter 524, Statutes of 2003, required
children under six years of age or under 60 pounds to be
properly secured in a child passenger restraint system in the
back seat of a vehicle.
AB 2108 (Evans) 2006, would have increased the age requirement
for children to be restrained by a child passenger restraint
system in the rear seat of a vehicle from the current six years
of age to 8 years old as well as removing the current 60 pound
weight limit. That bill was vetoed by the Governor who stated
in his veto message that education of and compliance with
existing laws is a better way to protect children.
AB 881 (Mullin) of 2007, would have increased the maximum age of
children would be required to be restrained by a child passenger
restraint system in the rear seat of a vehicle from the current
six years of age to under 8 years old or 4' 9" tall. That bill
was again vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health
Livermore Police Department
Safe Kids of Greater Sacramento
SB 929
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Safe Kids USA
Safe Kids of Sonoma County
Pacific Safety Council
The YMCA
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093