HSB 575 (LSB 5796YC (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON JONES)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the use of child restraint devices by certain children traveling in motor vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.446, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  A child under one year of age and weighing less than twenty pounds who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, shall be secured during transit in a rear-facing child restraint system, that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, until the child reaches the age of two or exceeds the manufacturer’s recommended maximum height and weight limits for the system.
   b.  A child under six years of age who does not meet the description in paragraph “a” and who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, shall be secured during transit by a child restraint system, that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, until the child reaches the age of eight.
   2.  A child at least six eight years of age but under eighteen years of age who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, shall be secured during transit by a child restraint system, that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, or by a safety belt or safety harness of a type approved under section 321.445, until the child reaches the age of eighteen.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.446, subsection 3, paragraph d, Code 2026, is amended by striking the paragraph.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the use of child restraint devices by certain children traveling in motor vehicles, including child restraint systems, safety belts, and safety harnesses.
   Current law requires a child under one year of age and weighing less than 20 pounds who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, to be secured during transit in a rear-facing child restraint system that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The bill extends this requirement to a child under two years of age or until the child exceeds the manufacturer’s recommended maximum height and weight limits for the child restraint system.
   Current law also requires a child under six years of age, who is not subject to the above requirement, and who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, to be secured during transit by a child restraint system that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The bill extends this requirement to children under eight years of age.
   Accordingly, the bill requires a child at least eight years of age (instead of six) but under 18 years of age who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, to be secured during transit by a child restraint system that is used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or by an approved safety belt or safety harness. 
   The bill strikes a provision that exempts children occupying the back seat of a motor vehicle from having to be secured during transit by a child restraint system, safety belt, or safety harness if no safety belt is available because all safety belts are being used by other occupants or cannot be used due to the use of a child restraint system in the seating position for which a belt is provided.
   A violation of Code section 321.446 is punishable by a scheduled fine of $135. The department of transportation is prohibited from considering a violation of Code section 321.446 in determining an offender’s driver’s license suspension under Code section 321.210 or habitual offender status under Code section 321.555.