| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to child safety devices in motor |
| 3 | vehicles; amending s. 316.613, F.S.; providing child |
| 4 | restraint requirements for children age 7 years or |
| 5 | younger who are less than a specified height; |
| 6 | providing exceptions; redefining the term "motor |
| 7 | vehicle" to exclude certain vehicles from such |
| 8 | requirements; providing a grace period; requiring that |
| 9 | a law enforcement officer issue a warning and give |
| 10 | educational literature to an operator of a motor |
| 11 | vehicle during the grace period, under certain |
| 12 | circumstances; providing effective dates. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Effective January 1, 2013, subsection (1) and |
| 17 | paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 316.613, Florida |
| 18 | Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 19 | 316.613 Child restraint requirements.- |
| 20 | (1)(a) Each Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined |
| 21 | herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated |
| 22 | on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if |
| 23 | the child is 7 5 years of age or younger and less than 4 feet 9 |
| 24 | inches in height, provide for protection of the child by |
| 25 | properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child |
| 26 | restraint device that is appropriate for the height and weight |
| 27 | of the child. The device may include a separate carrier, a |
| 28 | vehicle manufacturer's integrated child seat, or a child booster |
| 29 | seat that displays the child's height and weight specifications |
| 30 | for the seat on the attached manufacturer's label as required by |
| 31 | Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213. The device must |
| 32 | comply with the standards of the United States Department of |
| 33 | Transportation and be secured in the motor vehicle in accordance |
| 34 | with the manufacturer's instructions. The court may dismiss the |
| 35 | charge against a motor vehicle operator for a first violation of |
| 36 | this subsection upon proof that a federally approved child |
| 37 | restraint device has been purchased or otherwise obtained. |
| 38 | 1. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint |
| 39 | device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's |
| 40 | integrated child seat. |
| 41 | 2. For children aged 4 through 7 5 years who are less than |
| 42 | 4 feet 9 inches in height, a separate carrier, an integrated |
| 43 | child seat, or a child booster seat belt may be used. However, |
| 44 | the requirement to use a child restraint device does not apply |
| 45 | when a safety belt as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) is used and |
| 46 | the person is: |
| 47 | a. Transporting the child gratuitously and in good faith |
| 48 | in response to a declared emergency situation or an immediate |
| 49 | emergency involving the child; or |
| 50 | b. Transporting a child whose medical condition |
| 51 | necessitates an exception as indicated by appropriate |
| 52 | documentation from a health professional. |
| 53 | (b) The department shall provide notice of the requirement |
| 54 | for child restraint devices, which notice shall accompany the |
| 55 | delivery of each motor vehicle license tag. |
| 56 | (2) As used in this section, the term "motor vehicle" |
| 57 | means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated |
| 58 | on the roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term |
| 59 | does not include: |
| 60 | (b) A bus or a passenger vehicle designed to accommodate |
| 61 | 10 or more persons and used for the transportation of persons |
| 62 | for compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport |
| 63 | children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or |
| 64 | in conjunction with school activities. |
| 65 | Section 2. Effective July 1, 2012, an operator of a motor |
| 66 | vehicle who does not violate the then-existing provisions of s. |
| 67 | 316.613(1)(a), Florida Statutes, but whose conduct would violate |
| 68 | that paragraph as amended January 1, 2013, shall be issued a |
| 69 | verbal warning and given educational literature by a law |
| 70 | enforcement officer. |
| 71 | Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this |
| 72 | act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |