Florida Senate - 2009                      CS for CS for SB 1404
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Criminal Justice; and Transportation; and
       Senators Altman, Gelber, Ring, Rich, Deutch, and Sobel
       
       
       
       591-04460-09                                          20091404c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to child-restraint requirements;
    3         amending s. 316.613, F.S.; providing child-restraint
    4         requirements for children ages 4 through 7; providing
    5         exceptions; redefining the term “motor vehicle” to
    6         exclude certain vehicles from such requirements;
    7         providing a grace period; providing exceptions;
    8         providing effective dates.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Effective January 1, 2011, paragraph (a) of
   13  subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   14  316.613, Florida Statutes, are amended, present paragraph (b) of
   15  subsection (1) of that section is redesignated as paragraph (d),
   16  and new paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that subsection, to
   17  read:
   18         316.613 Child restraint requirements.—
   19         (1)(a) Each Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined
   20  herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated
   21  on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if
   22  the child is 7 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection
   23  of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally
   24  approved child restraint device that is appropriate for the
   25  height and weight of the child unless the child is being
   26  transported in the bed of a pick-up truck or the child is
   27  participating in an official parade. The device may include a
   28  vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat, a separate child
   29  safety seat, or a child booster seat that displays the child’s
   30  weight and height specifications for the seat on the attached
   31  manufacturer’s label as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
   32  Standard No. 213. The device must comply with the standards of
   33  the United States Department of Transportation and be secured in
   34  the motor vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer’s
   35  instructions. The court may dismiss the charge against a motor
   36  vehicle operator for a first violation of this subsection upon
   37  proof that a federally approved child restraint device has been
   38  purchased or otherwise obtained.
   39         (b) For children aged through 3 years, such restraint
   40  device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s
   41  integrated child seat.
   42         (c) For children aged 4 through 7 5 years, a separate
   43  carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat belt
   44  may be used. However, the requirement to use a child booster
   45  seat does not apply when a separate carrier, integrated child
   46  seat, or seat belt as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) is used and
   47  the person is:
   48         1.Traveling on a highway having a posted maximum speed
   49  limit of 45 miles per hour or less;
   50         2.Visiting in this state and driving with a valid out-of
   51  state driver’s license;
   52         3.Transporting the child gratuitously and in good faith in
   53  response to a declared emergency situation or an immediate
   54  emergency involving the child; or
   55         4.Transporting a child whose medical condition
   56  necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate
   57  documentation from a health professional.
   58         (d)(b) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall provide notice
   59  of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice
   60  shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag.
   61         (2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means
   62  a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the
   63  roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not
   64  include:
   65         (b) A bus or a passenger vehicle designed to accommodate 10
   66  or more persons and used for the transportation of persons for
   67  compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport
   68  children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or
   69  in conjunction with school activities.
   70         Section 2. Effective July 1, 2010, a driver of a motor
   71  vehicle who does not violate the then-existing provisions of s.
   72  316.613(1)(c), Florida Statutes, but whose conduct would violate
   73  that provision, as amended January 1, 2011, may be issued a
   74  verbal warning and given educational literature by a law
   75  enforcement officer.
   76         Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
   77  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2009.