Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 316
       
       
       
       By Senator Altman
       
       
       
       
       24-00290A-10                                           2010316__
    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 certain children ages 4 through 7;
    5         redefining the term “motor vehicle” to exclude certain
    6         vehicles from such requirements; providing a grace
    7         period; providing exceptions; providing effective
    8         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 to read:
   15         316.613 Child restraint requirements.—
   16         (1)(a) Each Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined
   17  herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated
   18  on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if
   19  the child is 7 5 years of age or younger and is less than 4 feet
   20  9 inches in height, provide for protection of the child by
   21  properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child
   22  restraint device that is appropriate for the height and weight
   23  of the child. The device may include a vehicle manufacturer’s
   24  integrated child seat, a separate child safety seat, or a child
   25  booster seat that displays the child’s weight and height
   26  specifications for the seat on the attached manufacturer’s label
   27  as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS213.
   28  The device must comply with the standards of the United States
   29  Department of Transportation and be secured in the motor vehicle
   30  in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. For children
   31  aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate
   32  carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. For
   33  children aged 4 through 7 5 years, a separate carrier, an
   34  integrated child seat, or a child booster seat belt may be used.
   35  The court may dismiss the charge against a motor vehicle
   36  operator for a first violation of this paragraph upon proof of
   37  purchase of a federally approved child restraint device.
   38         (2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means
   39  a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the
   40  roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not
   41  include:
   42         (b) A bus or a passenger vehicle designed to accommodate 10
   43  or more persons and used for the transportation of persons for
   44  compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport
   45  children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or
   46  in conjunction with school activities.
   47         Section 2. Effective July 1, 2010, a driver of a motor
   48  vehicle who does not violate the then-existing provisions of s.
   49  316.613(1)(a), Florida Statutes, but whose conduct would violate
   50  that provision, as amended January 1, 2011, may be issued a
   51  verbal warning and given educational literature by a law
   52  enforcement officer.
   53         Section 3. This act does not apply to a person who is
   54  transporting a child who is 4 through 7 years of age if the
   55  person is:
   56         (1) Transporting the child gratuitously and in good faith
   57  in response to a declared emergency situation or an immediate
   58  emergency involving the child; or
   59         (2) Transporting a child whose medical condition
   60  necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate
   61  documentation from a health professional.
   62         Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
   63  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2010.