Bill Text: IA SF2094 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the use of child restraint systems in motor vehicles, and making penalties applicable.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-25 - Subcommittee: Smith, Bertrand, and Lykam. S.J. 165. [SF2094 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF2094-Introduced.html

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Senate File 2094 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  SCHNEIDER

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the use of child restraint systems in motor
  2    vehicles, and making penalties applicable.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 321.446, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code
  1  2 2018, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    a.  A child under one year two years of age and weighing
  1  4 less than twenty pounds who is being transported in a motor
  1  5 vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or
  1  6 motorcycle, shall be secured during transit in a rear=facing
  1  7 child restraint system that is used in accordance with the
  1  8 manufacturer's instructions.
  1  9                           EXPLANATION
  1 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  1 11 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  1 12    Under current law, a child under six years of age who is
  1 13 being transported in a motor vehicle, except a school bus or
  1 14 motorcycle, must be secured during transit by a child restraint
  1 15 system that is used in accordance with the manufacturer's
  1 16 instructions. If the child is under one year of age and
  1 17 weighs less than 20 pounds, the child restraint system must be
  1 18 rear=facing. A child restraint system is a specially designed
  1 19 seating system, including a belt=positioning seat or a booster
  1 20 seat, that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards set
  1 21 forth in 49 C.F.R. {571.213.
  1 22    This bill amends current law to require that if the child
  1 23 is under two years of age, the child restraint system must be
  1 24 rear=facing regardless of the child's weight.
  1 25    Under current law, a violation of the provision is a simple
  1 26 misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine of $100. A court
  1 27 is prohibited from convicting a person who is charged with a
  1 28 first violation of the provision if the person produces in
  1 29 court, within a reasonable time, proof that the person has
  1 30 purchased or otherwise acquired a child restraint system which
  1 31 meets federal motor vehicle safety standards. Failure to use a
  1 32 child restraint system does not constitute negligence nor is
  1 33 the failure admissible as evidence in a civil action. Failure
  1 34 to use a child restraint system is prohibited from being
  1 35 considered by the department of transportation in determining
  2  1 whether to suspend a person's driver's license (Code section
  2  2 321.210), but the violation is considered in determining
  2  3 habitual offender status (Code section 321.555).
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