BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 929
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: evans
VERSION: 7/14/11
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: August 23, 2011
SUBJECT:
Child passengers: restraints
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires children up to eight years of age to ride in
a booster seat.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law prohibits a parent or guardian from allowing a
child who is six years of age or younger or who weighs less than
60 pounds from being transported 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 existing law prohibits a driver from transporting a child
who is younger than six or weighs less than 60 pounds in a motor
vehicle unless the child is in child seat in the rear seat of
the vehicle.
A child under six or 60 pounds may be transported in a child
seat 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, all the rear seats are occupied by other
children, or medical reasons necessitate that the child cannot
ride in the rear seat.
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.
A parent or guardian may not allow a child from six years to 15
years of age to be transported in a motor vehicle unless that
child is in an appropriate child safety seat or seat belt
meeting federal safety standards. When a parent or guardian is
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not present, then existing law prohibits a driver from
transporting a child from six to 15 years of age in a motor
vehicle unless that child is in an appropriate child safety seat
or seat belt meeting federal safety standards.
No driver may operate a motor vehicle unless all passengers age
16 and over are "properly restrained by a safety belt."
Existing law requires hospitals, clinics, or birthing centers,
when discharging a child under age six or 60 pounds, to provide
and discuss information on the current law requiring child
safety seats to whomever the child is released. It requires
rental car agencies to post a notice stating that children under
age six who weigh less than 60 pounds must ride in the rear seat
in a child safety seat. Rental car agencies must also make
child safety seats available for rent.
This bill :
1.Requires children under the age of eight years old to be
transported in a car seat in a rear seat that meets federal
motor safety requirements, unless that child is four feet nine
inches in height or taller, in which case the child may be
"properly restrained by a safety belt" rather than a child
seat. This bill defines "properly restrained by a safety
belt" to mean that the lap portion of the belt crosses the
hips or upper thighs and the shoulder portion of the belt
crosses the chest of the occupant. This bill also maintains
the exceptions in existing law to the requirement that child
safety seats be in the rear seat of the vehicle.
2.Removes the prohibition on infants 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.
3.Requires hospitals, clinics, or birthing centers, when
discharging a child under age eight, to provide and discuss
information on the current law requiring child safety seats,
seat belts, and transporting children in rear seats to
whomever the child is released.
4.Requires rental car companies to provide car seats, upon
request, for children less than eight years of age rather than
age six as under existing law and makes corresponding changes
SB 929 (EVANS) Page 3
to the notice that rental car agencies must post.
5.Declares that the state is eligible for federal funding for
public education and low-cost or no-cost booster seats under
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). To be eligible,
states must require car seats for children up to age eight.
6.Makes other conforming changes to related provisions of law.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose . Beginning January 1, 2002, SB 567 (Speier), Chapter
675, Statutes of 2000, required that children in California
who are less than six years of age or weigh less than 60
pounds be properly restrained in a child passenger restraint
system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards. Even
at the time SB 567 passed the Legislature, the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) was
recommending that children be in a car seat or booster seat
until age eight. SB 567, however, made California first in
the nation to adopt car seat requirements for children up to
age six.
NHTSA continues to recommend that children who have outgrown
car seats with an internal harness (often at about four years
of age) be properly restrained in a seat belt positioning car
seat (booster seat) until they are eight years of age, unless
they are four feet nine inches tall or taller. A booster seat
ensures that the safety belt is positioned properly across the
child so that it restrains rather than injures the child when
an accident occurs.
The author bases the need for this bill on NHTSA's
recommendation and notes that 36 other states and the District
of Columbia have surpassed California's 2002 law, which
proponents term as inadequate for protecting six and seven
year olds. Statistics show that motor vehicle collisions are
the leading cause of fatality and injury for children ages
five through 12 in California because children in this age
group have outgrown their car seats but are too small to fully
benefit from the seatbelt that was designed for the average
male 5'8" tall and weighing 180 pounds.
Supporters of this bill point to evidence that children ages
four to eight who use car or booster seats instead of seat
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belts alone are 59% less likely to be injured if they are
involved in a crash. Supporters further point out that
enactment of this bill would mean that California would
qualify for federal transportation funds under SAFETEA-LU
Section 2011 to pay for booster seat public education and
provide no-cost and low-cost booster seats.
The author's intent is to save lives, protect children, and
educate parents on how to properly fasten children while
traveling in a motor vehicle.
2)Parental choice . Some would argue that the choice to put a
child who is age six or seven into a booster seat is a
decision best left to the parents and that this bill is
therefore undue government regulation of private activity.
Others may note that children who are six years old have just
"graduated" from their booster seats and will not want to
return to them if this bill becomes law. Proponents counter
that parents often believe that their children are properly
and safely riding in a vehicle when they follow the age and
weight parameters in current law. Supporters believe this
bill will dispel those parental misconceptions.
3)Costs to parents . California parents of four and five year
olds currently own booster seats, and these same seats will
satisfy the requirement of this bill. As a result, parents
should experience no additional costs. Booster seats can be
bought at retail stores for as little as $20.
4)Previous legislation . In 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed
AB 2108 (Evans), and in 2007, he vetoed AB 881 (Mullin). Both
bills were very similar to this one and would have required
children up to eight years of age to ride in a booster seat.
In his veto messages, Governor Schwarzenegger asserted "that
the way to protect children was through efforts focused on the
education and enforcement of existing laws not the addition of
new ones."
5)Concurrence hearing . This bill is back in the Senate on
concurrence and has been referred to committee pursuant to
rule 29.10 because Assembly amendments deleted the version of
the bill that passed the Senate earlier this year and replaced
it with the current language. At today's 29.10 hearing, the
committee may not amend the bill further and may only hold the
bill or return the bill as approved by the committee to the
Senate floor.
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Assembly Votes:
Floor: 48-27
Appr: 11-5
Trans: 8-3
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, August
17, 2011)
SUPPORT: California Alliance of YMCAs (sponsor)
California Coalition for Children's Safety &
Health (sponsor)
Safe Kids California (sponsor)
Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety
City of Livermore
Emergency Nurses Association
Livermore Police Officer's Association
Pacific Safety Council
Safe Kids Greater Sacramento
Safe Kids Sonoma
Safe Kids San Diego
Safe Kids USA
Safety BeltSafe USA
OPPOSED: None received.