BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 929 (Evans)
          As Amended  June 20, 2011
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :26-12  
           
           TRANSPORTATION      8-3         APPROPRIATIONS      11-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal,         |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield,     |
          |     |Blumenfield, Bonilla,     |     |Bradford, Charles         |
          |     |Buchanan, Eng, Furutani,  |     |Calderon, Campos, Gatto,  |
          |     |Galgiani, Portantino      |     |Hall, Hill, Lara,         |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Solorio         |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Logue, Miller, Norby      |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Mandates that children remain in booster seats an 
          additional two years until they reach age eight or four feet 
          nine 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 eight.  

          3)Exempts children under age eight 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 








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            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).  

          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 six years old 
            or weigh at least 60 pounds.  

          3)Authorizes children under age six 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 six 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 pounds 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 six years of age in 
            the front seat.  








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          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.  

          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.  








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          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  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, this bill would result in negligible state costs.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, California's child passenger 
          safety laws do not adequately protect children ages six and 
          seven.  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 
          eight years old.  The author cites that under this bill, parents 
          who currently own booster seats for children under age six could 
          simply use the same booster seat for that child until he or she 
          turns eight years old or until the child reaches 4' 9" in 
          height.  

          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 eight 
          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 four to eight 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 
          four and eight.  PCPS reports that children ages four through 
          seven 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 four 








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          through seven 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 AB 1290 (Evans) of 2006 and AB 881 (Mullin) of 2007 
          requiring the use of booster seats until a child reaches age 
          eight 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.  


          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 








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          properly secured in a child passenger restraint system in the 
          back seat of a vehicle.  

          AB 2108 (Evans) of 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 eight 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 eight years old or 4' 9" tall.  That 
          bill was again vetoed by the Governor.  
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319- 
          2093 


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