Vehicles: child passengers.

(1) Existing law establishes rules of the road governing the operation of vehicles upon the highways, including, among other things, a mandatory seat belt law. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would delete related legislative findings and declarations and make other conforming changes in existing law. (2) Existing law prohibits a parent or legal guardian, while present in a motor vehicle, from permitting his or her child or ward to be transported upon a highway in the vehicle without properly securing the child or ward in a rear seat in a child passenger restraint system meeting applicable federal safety standards, unless the child or ward is 6 years of age or older or weighs 60 pounds or more. Existing law imposes a similar prohibition on the driver of a vehicle, unless the parent or legal guardian of the child is also present in the vehicle and is not the driver. Existing law permits 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 applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, under specified circumstances, including, but not limited to, if all rear seats are already occupied by children under the age of 12 years. This bill would, for purposes of allowing certain children to sit in the front seat under this exception, lower the age of the children occupying the rear seats from 12 to 8 years of age. Because this bill would change the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The bill would also make various nonsubstantive technical and conforming changes. (4) 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.