Florida Senate - 2009                             CS for SB 1404
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senators Altman, Gelber,
       Ring, Rich, and Deutch
       
       
       
       596-02962-09                                          20091404c1
    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; redefining
    5         the term “motor vehicle” to exclude certain vehicles
    6         from such requirements; providing a grace period;
    7         providing exceptions; providing effective dates.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Effective January 1, 2011, paragraph (a) of
   12  subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   13  316.613, Florida Statutes, are amended, present paragraph (b) of
   14  subsection (1) of that section is redesignated as paragraph (d),
   15  and new paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that subsection, to
   16  read:
   17         316.613 Child restraint requirements.—
   18         (1)(a) Each Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined
   19  herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated
   20  on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if
   21  the child is 7 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection
   22  of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally
   23  approved child restraint device that is appropriate for the
   24  height and weight of the child. The device may include a vehicle
   25  manufacturer’s integrated child seat, a separate child safety
   26  seat, or a child booster seat that displays the child’s weight
   27  and height specifications for the seat on the attached
   28  manufacturer’s label as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
   29  Standard No. 213. The device must comply with the standards of
   30  the United States Department of Transportation and be secured in
   31  the motor vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer’s
   32  instructions. The court may dismiss the charge against a motor
   33  vehicle operator for a first violation of this subsection upon
   34  proof that a federally approved child restraint device has been
   35  purchased or otherwise obtained.
   36         (b) For children aged through 3 years, such restraint
   37  device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s
   38  integrated child seat.
   39         (c) For children aged 4 through 7 5 years, a separate
   40  carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat belt
   41  may be used. However, the requirement to use a child booster
   42  seat does not apply when a separate carrier, integrated child
   43  seat, or seat belt as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) is used and
   44  the person is:
   45         1. Traveling on a highway having a posted maximum speed
   46  limit of 45 miles per hour or less;
   47         2. Visiting in this state and driving with a valid out-of
   48  state driver’s license;
   49         3. Transporting the child gratuitously and in good faith in
   50  response to a declared emergency situation or an immediate
   51  emergency involving the child; or
   52         4. Transporting a child whose medical condition
   53  necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate
   54  documentation from a health professional.
   55         (d)(b) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall provide notice
   56  of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice
   57  shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag.
   58         (2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means
   59  a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the
   60  roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not
   61  include:
   62         (b) A bus or a passenger vehicle designed to accommodate 10
   63  or more persons and used for the transportation of persons for
   64  compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport
   65  children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or
   66  in conjunction with school activities.
   67         Section 2. Effective July 1, 2010, a driver of a motor
   68  vehicle who does not violate the then-existing provisions of s.
   69  316.613(1)(c), Florida Statutes, but whose conduct would violate
   70  that provision, as amended January 1, 2011, may be issued a
   71  verbal warning and given educational literature by a law
   72  enforcement officer.
   73         Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
   74  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2009.