BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 929| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 929 Author: Evans (D) Amended: 7/14/11 Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 6-3, 05/03/11 AYES: DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio, Simitian NOES: Gaines, Harman, Huff SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 26-12, 05/31/11 AYES: Alquist, Blakeslee, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee NOES: Anderson, Cannella, Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Strickland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 08/15/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Vehicles: child passenger restraints SOURCE : California Coalition for Childrens Safety and Health Safe Kids California California State Alliance of YMCAs CONTINUED SB 929 Page 2 DIGEST : This bill provides that children remain in booster seats an additional two years until they reach age eight or four feet nine inches tall or taller. Assembly Amendments require children remain in booster seats until they reach age eight or four feet nine inches tall, define the terms "properly restrained by a safety belt," eliminate 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, and prohibit a child from riding in the front seat of a car with an active air bag if they are in a rear facing child passenger restraint. 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 with an active passenger air bag. This bill: 1.Defines "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that the lower (lap) portion of the belt crosses the hips SB 929 Page 3 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 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. Comments According to the author's office, 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 SB 929 Page 4 turns eight years old or until the child reaches 4' 9" in height. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration 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 percent 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 through seven decreases the risk of injury by 59 percent 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 SB 929 Page 5 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 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. This 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. This bill was vetoed by the SB 929 Page 6 Governor. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/11) California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health (co-source) Safe Kids California (co-source) California State Alliance of YMCAs (co-source) Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Pacific Safety Council California State Council of Emergency Nurses Association Safety Belt Safe USA Safe Kids USA Livermore Police Department Livermore Police Officer's Association Safe Kids Sonoma County Safe Kids Greater Sacramento Safe Kids San Diego ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 08/15/11 AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Huber, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Bonilla, Galgiani, Gorell, Jeffries JJA:nl 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses SB 929 Page 7 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****