BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2667|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2667
Author: Hill (D)
Amended: 8/18/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/22/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Harman, Pavley,
Simitian
NOES: Ashburn
NO VOTE RECORDED: Kehoe, Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 65-6, 5/20/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Child passenger restraint systems
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires hospitals, clinics, and
birthing centers, when discharging a child, to provide
contact information to the parent or the person to whom the
child is released directing them to an Internet Web site or
other contact that may provide, at no or low cost,
information and assistance related to child passenger
restraint systems.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/18/10 clarify that hospitals,
clinics, and birthing centers do not have an obligation to
provide assistance related to child passenger restraint
CONTINUED
AB 2667
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systems beyond providing information on the current law
related to these restraint systems plus specified contact
information for those who could install and inspect these
systems at no or low cost.
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.
Existing law requires that each time a hospital, clinic, or
birthing center discharges a child under age six or 60
pounds to provide and discuss information on the current
law requiring child safety seats to the person to whom the
child is released.
This bill:
1. Requires that a hospital, clinic, and birthing center,
when discharging a child who is six years of age or
younger or who weighs less the 60 pounds, provide
contact information to direct the person to an Internet
Web site or other contact that may provide, at no or low
cost, information and assistance related to child
passenger restraint systems requirements, installation,
and inspection.
2. Provides this bill does not oblige the hospital, clinic,
or birthing center to provide patients with other
assistance related to the child passenger restraint
system.
3. Enumerates that this contact information may include the
telephone number of the local office of the California
Highway Patrol or the Web site for the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's Child Safety Seat
Inspection Station Locator, or the Internet Web site for
the Department of Public Health's child passenger
restraint system safety inspection locator.
Comments
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Purpose of the bill . According to the author's office,
over 90 percent of parents and caregivers believe their
child safety seats are installed correctly, but National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research
shows that three out of four parents improperly restrain
their children in vehicles, putting them at risk for
serious injury or death in a crash.
NHTSA reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading
cause of death of children three to six years of age. Many
of these deaths can be prevented through the proper use of
child safety seats. According to NHTSA, child safety seats
can reduce fatal injury by 7l percent for infants and by 54
percent for toddlers from ages one to four years.
The author reports that he hosted two child seat safety
check events in his district over the last year and saw
first-hand the alarming number of child safety seats that
are not installed properly. The author introduced this
bill to improve current law by notifying parents about how
to obtain free safety seat inspections for their child's
safety seat.
In 2006 and 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed two bills
that would have implemented NHTSA's recommendation to
require children up to eight years of age to ride in a
booster seat. In his veto messages, the Governor stated
that, "?the way to better protect our children is through
education of and compliance with existing laws, not the
addition of new ones."
In his veto of the 2007 bill he concluded, "Rather than
repeatedly passing new laws in response to the age, height
or weight factors of our children and modifying legal
requirements, a better strategy is to move towards full
compliance with the laws we already have."
The author believes that this bill is consistent with the
Governor's views on informing parents about existing child
car seat laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/10)
AB 2667
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AAA Northern California
Automobile Club of Southern California
California State Automobile Association
Pacific Safety Council
Safe Kids Sacramento
Safe Kids San Diego
Safety Belt Safe USA
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones,
Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nestande, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Yamada
NOES: Anderson, DeVore, Knight, Logue, Niello, Norby
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher, Harkey,
Jeffries, Nava, Villines, John A. Perez, Vacancy
JJA:mw 8/19/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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