Bill Text: CA SB929 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Vehicles: child passenger restraints.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 474, Statutes of 2011. [SB929 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB929-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 929	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Evans

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

    An act to add Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 7295)
to Part 1.7 of Division 2 of, the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating
to taxation, and making an appropriation therefor.   An
act to amend Sections 27   315, 27315.3, and 27360 of the
Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 929, as amended, Evans.  Local taxation: vehicle
license fees.   Vehicles: child passenger restraints.
 
   (1) Existing law prohibits a person from operating a motor
vehicle, as defined, on a highway unless that person and all
passengers 16 years of age or older are properly restrained by a
safety belt. Existing law also makes various legislative findings and
declarations with regard to the need for a mandatory seat belt law.
 
   This bill would delete those legislative findings and declarations
relating to the need for a mandatory seat belt law.  
   Existing law requires a child or ward under the age of 6 years who
weighs less than 60 pounds to be secured in a rear seat in a child
passenger restraint system that meets specified federal standards,
but permits such a child or ward to ride in the front seat of a motor
vehicle if properly secured in a child passenger restraint system
that meets specified federal standards, under specified
circumstances, including, among other things, if all rear seats are
already occupied by children under the age of 12 years.  
   This bill would instead, permit a child or ward under the age of 6
years who weighs less than 60 pounds to ride in the front seat of a
motor vehicle, if the child is properly secured in a child passenger
restraint system that meets specified federal standards, if all rear
seats are already occupied by children under the age of 8 years.
 
   Because a violation of the vehicle law constitutes a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the
scope of an existing crime.  
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.  
   Existing law authorizes various local governmental entities to
impose local taxes for various purposes.  
   This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of any county
or city and county, by ordinance, to propose to the voters a local
vehicle license fee in accordance with specified requirements.
 
   This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to
administer the local vehicle license fee, and would require, prior to
the operative date of any ordinance imposing a local vehicle license
fee, the county or city and county to contract with the Department
of Motor Vehicles to perform this function. This bill would require
the county or city and county to reimburse the Department of Motor
Vehicles pursuant to the contract. This bill would require the
revenues derived from the local vehicle license fee to be deposited
in the State Treasury to the credit of the Local Vehicle License Fee
Account, which this bill would create. This bill would continuously
appropriate those moneys to the Controller for allocation to each
county and city and county in which the local vehicle license fee is
imposed. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation:  yes   no
 . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: 
no   yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 27315 of the   Vehicle
Code   is amended to read:  
   27315.  (a) The Legislature finds that a mandatory seatbelt law
will contribute to reducing highway deaths and injuries by
encouraging greater usage of existing manual seatbelts, that
automatic crash protection systems which require no action by vehicle
occupants offer the best hope of reducing deaths and injuries, and
that encouraging the use of manual safety belts is only a partial
remedy for addressing this major cause of death and injury. The
Legislature declares that the enactment of this section is intended
to be compatible with support for federal safety standards requiring
automatic crash protection systems and should not be used in any
manner to rescind federal requirements for installation of automatic
restraints in new cars.
   (b) 
    27315.    (a)  This section shall be known and
may be cited as the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. 
   (c) 
    (b)  (1) As used in this section, "motor vehicle" means
a passenger vehicle, a motortruck, or a truck tractor, but does not
include a motorcycle.
   (2) For purposes of this section, a "motor vehicle" also means a
farm labor vehicle, regardless of the date of certification under
Section 31401. 
   (d) 
    (c)  (1) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle on a
highway unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or
over are properly restrained by a safety belt. This paragraph does
not apply to the operator of a taxicab, as defined in Section 27908,
when the taxicab is driven on a city street and is engaged in the
transportation of a fare-paying passenger. The safety belt
requirement established by this paragraph is the minimum safety
standard applicable to employees being transported in a motor
vehicle. This paragraph does not preempt more stringent or
restrictive standards imposed by the Labor Code or another state or
federal regulation regarding the transportation of employees in a
motor vehicle.
   (2) The operator of a limousine for hire or the operator of an
authorized emergency vehicle, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 165, shall not operate the limousine for hire or authorized
emergency vehicle unless the operator and any passengers six years of
age or over or weighing 60 pounds or more in the front seat are
properly restrained by a safety belt.
   (3) The operator of a taxicab shall not operate the taxicab unless
any passengers six years of age or over or weighing 60 pounds or
more in the front seat are properly restrained by a safety belt.

   (e) 
    (d)  A person 16 years of age or over shall not be a
passenger in a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person is
properly restrained by a safety belt. This subdivision does not apply
to a passenger in a sleeper berth, as defined in subdivision (x) of
Section 1201 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.

   (f) 
    (e)  An owner of a motor vehicle, including an owner or
operator of a taxicab, as defined in Section 27908, or a limousine
for hire, operated on a highway shall maintain safety belts in good
working order for the use of  the  occupants of the vehicle.
The safety belts shall conform to motor vehicle safety standards
established by the United States Department of Transportation. This
subdivision, however, does not require installation or maintenance of
safety belts if  it is  not required by the laws of the
United States applicable to the vehicle at the time of its initial
sale. 
   (g) 
    (f)  This section does not apply to a passenger or
operator with a physically disabling condition or medical condition
that would prevent appropriate restraint in a safety belt, if the
condition is duly certified by a licensed physician and surgeon or by
a licensed chiropractor who shall state the nature of the condition,
as well as the reason the restraint is inappropriate. This section
also does not apply to a public employee,  when 
 if the public employee is  in an authorized emergency
vehicle as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
165, or to a passenger in a seat behind the front seat of an
authorized emergency vehicle as defined in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 165 operated by the public employee,
unless required by the agency employing the public employee. 

   (h) 
    (g)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, a
violation of subdivision  (d), (e), or (f)  
(c), (d), or (e)  is an infraction punishable by a fine of not
more than twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine of not
more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense. In lieu
of the fine and any penalty assessment or court costs, the court,
pursuant to Section 42005, may order that a person convicted of a
first offense attend a school for traffic violators or another
court-approved program in which the proper use of safety belts is
demonstrated. 
   (i) 
    (h)  In a civil action, a violation of subdivision
 (d), (e), or (f)   (c), (d), or (e)  or
information of a violation of subdivision  (h)  
(g)  does not establish negligence as a matter of law or
negligence per se for comparative fault purposes, but negligence may
be proven as a fact without regard to the violation. 
   (j) 
    (i)  If the United States Secretary of Transportation
fails to adopt safety standards for manual safety belt systems by
September 1, 1989, a motor vehicle manufactured after that date for
sale or sold in this state shall not be registered unless it contains
a manual safety belt system that meets the performance standards
applicable to automatic crash protection devices adopted by the
United States Secretary of Transportation pursuant to Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208) as in effect on
January 1, 1985. 
   (k) 
    (j)  A motor vehicle offered for original sale in this
state  which   that  has been manufactured
on or after September 1, 1989, shall comply with the automatic
restraint requirements of Section S4.1.2.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208), as published in Volume
49 of the Federal Register, No. 138, page 29009. An automobile
manufacturer that sells or delivers a motor vehicle subject to this
subdivision, and fails to comply with this subdivision, shall be
punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for
each sale or delivery of a noncomplying motor vehicle. 
   (  l  )
    (k)  Compliance with subdivision  (j) or (k)
  (i) or (j)  by a manufacturer shall be made by
self-certification in the same manner as self-certification is
accomplished under federal law. 
   (m) 
    (l)  This section does not apply to a person actually
engaged in delivery of newspapers to customers along the person's
route if the person is properly restrained by a safety belt prior to
commencing and subsequent to completing delivery on the route.

   (n) 
    (m)  This section does not apply to a person actually
engaged in collection and delivery activities as a rural delivery
carrier for the United States Postal Service if the person is
properly restrained by a safety belt prior to stopping at the first
box and subsequent to stopping at the last box on the route. 

   (o) 
    (n)  This section does not apply to a driver actually
engaged in the collection of solid waste or recyclable materials
along that driver's collection route if the driver is properly
restrained by a safety belt prior to commencing and subsequent to
completing the collection route. 
   (p) 
    (o)  Subdivisions  (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h)
  (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g)  shall become
inoperative immediately upon the date that the United States
Secretary of Transportation, or his or her delegate, determines to
rescind the portion of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.
208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208)  which   that 
requires the installation of automatic restraints in new motor
vehicles, except that those subdivisions shall not become inoperative
if the secretary's decision to rescind that Standard No. 208 is not
based, in any respect, on the enactment or continued operation of
those subdivisions.
   SEC. 2.    Section 27315.3 of the   Vehicle
Code   is amended to read: 
   27315.3.  (a) As used in this section, "passenger motor vehicle"
means  any   a  passenger vehicle as
defined in Section 465 and  any  a 
motortruck as defined in Section 410 of less than 6,001 pounds
unladen weight, but does not include a motorcycle as defined in
Section 400.
   (b) Every sheriff's department and city police department and the
Department of the California Highway Patrol shall maintain safety
belts in good working order for the use of occupants of  any
  a  vehicle  which   that
 it operates on a highway for the purpose of patrol. The safety
belts shall conform to motor vehicle safety standards established by
the United States Department of Transportation. This subdivision does
not, however, require installation or maintenance of safety belts
where not required by the laws of the United States applicable to the
vehicle at the time of its initial sale.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001,  any
  a  violation of subdivision (b) is an infraction
punishable by a fine, including all penalty assessments and court
costs imposed on the convicted department, of not more than twenty
dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine, including all penalty
assessments and court costs imposed on the convicted department, of
not more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense.
   (d) (1) For  any   a  violation of
subdivision (b), in addition to the fines provided for pursuant to
subdivision (c) and the penalty assessments provided for pursuant to
Section 1464 of the Penal Code, an additional penalty assessment of
two dollars ($2) shall be levied for  any   a
 first offense, and an additional penalty assessment of five
dollars ($5) shall be levied for any subsequent offense.
   (2) All money collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be
utilized in accordance with Section 1464 of the Penal Code.
   (e) In  any  a  civil action, a
violation of subdivision (b) or information of a violation of
subdivision (c) shall not establish negligence as a matter of law or
negligence per se for comparative fault purposes, but negligence may
be proven as a fact without regard to the violation.
   (f) Subdivisions (b) and (c) shall become inoperative immediately
upon the date that the Secretary of the United States Department of
Transportation, or his or her delegate, determines to rescind the
portion of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49
C.F.R. 571.208)  which   that  requires the
installation of automatic restraints in new passenger motor
vehicles, except that those subdivisions shall not become inoperative
if the secretary's decision to rescind Standard No. 208 is not
based, in any respect, on the enactment or continued operation of
those subdivisions or subdivisions  (d) to (h)  
(c) to (g)  , inclusive, of Section 27315.
   SEC. 3.   Section 27360 of the   Vehicle
Code   is amended to read: 
   27360.  (a) A parent or legal guardian, when present in a motor
vehicle, as defined in Section 27315,  may  
shall  not permit his or her child or ward to be transported
upon a highway in the motor vehicle without properly securing the
child or ward in a rear seat in a child passenger restraint system
meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, unless the
child or ward is one of the following:
   (1) Six years of age or older.
   (2) Sixty pounds or more.
   (b) (1) A driver may not transport on a highway a child in a motor
vehicle, as defined in  subdivision (c) of  Section 27315,
without properly securing the child in a rear seat in a child
passenger restraint system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle
safety standards, unless the child is one of the following:
   (A) Six years of age or older.
   (B) Sixty pounds or more.
   (2) This subdivision does not apply to a driver if the parent or
legal guardian of the child is also present in the vehicle and is not
the driver.
   (c) (1) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b), and except as
provided in paragraph (2), a child or ward under the age of six years
who weighs less than 60 pounds may ride in the front seat of a motor
vehicle  ,  if  the child is  properly
secured in a child passenger restraint system that meets applicable
federal motor vehicle safety standards, under any of the following
circumstances:
   (A) There is no rear seat.
   (B) The rear seats are side-facing jump seats.
   (C) The rear seats are rear-facing seats.
   (D) The child passenger restraint system cannot be installed
properly in the rear seat.
   (E) All rear seats are already occupied by children under the age
of  12   8  years.
   (F) Medical reasons necessitate that the child or ward not ride in
the rear seat. The court may require satisfactory proof of the child'
s medical condition.
   (2) A child or ward may not ride in the front seat of a motor
vehicle with an active passenger airbag if the child or ward is one
of the following:
   (A) Under one year of age.
   (B) Less than 20 pounds.
   (C) Riding in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system.
   (d) (1) (A) A first offense under this section is punishable by a
fine of one hundred dollars ($100), except that the court may reduce
or waive the fine if the defendant establishes to the satisfaction of
the court that he or she is economically disadvantaged, and the
court, instead, refers the defendant to a community education program
that includes, but is not limited to, education on the proper
installation and use of a child passenger restraint system for
children of all ages, and provides certification to the court of
completion of that program. Upon completion of the program, the
defendant shall provide proof of participation in the program. If an
education program on the proper installation and use of a child
passenger restraint system is not available within 50 miles of the
residence of the defendant, the requirement to participate in that
program shall be waived. If the fine is paid, waived, or reduced, the
court shall report the conviction to the department pursuant to
Section 1803.
   (B) The court may require a defendant described under this section
to attend an education program that includes demonstration of proper
installation and use of a child passenger restraint system and
provides certification to the court that the defendant has presented
for inspection a child passenger restraint system that meets
applicable federal safety standards.
   (2) (A) A second or subsequent offense under this section is
punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), no part of
which may be waived by the court, except that the court may reduce or
waive the fine if the defendant establishes to the satisfaction of
the court that he or she is economically disadvantaged, and the
court, instead, refers the defendant to a community education program
that includes, but is not limited to, education on the proper
installation and use of child passenger restraint systems for
children of all ages, and provides certification to the court of
completion of that program. Upon completion of the program, the
defendant shall provide proof of participation in the program. If an
education program on the proper installation and use of a child
passenger restraint system is not available within 50 miles of the
residence of the defendant, the requirement to participate in that
program shall be waived. If the fine is paid, waived, or reduced, the
court shall report the conviction to the department pursuant to
Section 1803.
   (B) The court may require a defendant described under this section
to attend an education program that includes demonstration of proper
installation and use of a child passenger restraint system and
provides certification to the court that the defendant has presented
for inspection a child passenger restraint system that meets
applicable federal safety standards.
   (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the fines
collected for a violation of this section shall be allocated as
follows:
   (1) (A) Sixty percent to health departments of local jurisdictions
where the violation occurred, to be used for a community education
program that includes, but is not limited to, demonstration of the
installation of a child passenger restraint system for children of
all ages and also assists an economically disadvantaged family in
obtaining a restraint system through a low-cost purchase or loan. The
county or city health department shall designate a coordinator to
facilitate the creation of a special account and to develop a
relationship with the court system to facilitate the transfer of
funds to the program. The county or city may contract for the
implementation of the program. Prior to obtaining possession of a
child passenger restraint system pursuant to this section, a person
shall attend an education program that includes demonstration of
proper installation and use of a child passenger restraint system.
   (B) As the proceeds from fines become available, county or city
health departments shall prepare and maintain a listing of all child
passenger restraint low-cost purchase or loaner programs in their
counties, including a semiannual verification that all programs
listed are in existence. Each county or city shall forward the
listing to the Office of Traffic Safety in the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency and the courts, birthing centers,
community child health and disability prevention programs, county
clinics, prenatal clinics, women, infants, and children programs, and
county hospitals in that county, who shall make the listing
available to the public. The Office of Traffic Safety shall maintain
a listing of all of the programs in the state.
   (2) Twenty-five percent to the county or city for the
administration of the program.
   (3) Fifteen percent to the city, to be deposited in its general
fund except that, if the violation occurred in an unincorporated
area, this amount shall be allocated to the county for purposes of
paragraph (1).
   SEC. 4.    No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.  
  SECTION 1.    Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section
7295) is added to Part 1.7 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 3.8.  COUNTY VEHICLE LICENSE FEES


   7295.  (a) In addition to any other tax authority provided by law,
the board of supervisors of any county or city and county may, by
ordinance, place on the ballot a local vehicle license fee on any
vehicle, registered within the county or city and county in which the
local vehicle license fee is imposed, that is subject to
registration under the Vehicle Code and on which a vehicle license
fee is imposed pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 10701),
for consideration by the voters in accordance with all constitutional
and statutory requirements.
   (b) (1) A local vehicle license fee shall be subject to the
following conditions:
   (A) (i) If the election in which the local vehicle license fee
receives voter approval occurs between January 1 and June 30, the
local vehicle license fee shall be imposed on and after the first
January 1 that follows that election.
   (ii) If the election in which the local vehicle license fee
receives voter approval occurs between July 1 and December 31, the
local vehicle license fee shall be imposed on and after the first
July 1 that follows that election.
   (B) (i) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall administer the
local vehicle license fee.
   (ii) Prior to the operative date of any ordinance imposing a local
vehicle license fee, the county or city and county shall contract
with the Department of Motor Vehicles to perform all functions
incident to the administration of the local vehicle license fee.
   (iii) The contract shall contain a provision that the county or
city and county shall reimburse the Department of Motor Vehicles for
all refunds, losses, and costs incurred in the administration and
operation of the local vehicle license fee.
   (C) The local vehicle license fee shall be assessed and collected
in the same manner as the fee imposed by Part 5 (commencing with
Section 10701).
   (2) (A) Amounts collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be
transmitted to the Treasurer and deposited in the State Treasury to
the credit of the Local Vehicle License Fee Account in the General
Fund, which is hereby created.
   (B) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
moneys in the Local Vehicle License Fee Account are hereby
continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, to the
Controller for allocation to each county and city and county in which
the local vehicle license fee is imposed.