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House Bill 183 |
House Author: Brown, Fred, et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-05 |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 183 amends the Transportation Code to provide that a person commits an offense if the person operates a passenger vehicle and transports a child who is younger than five years of age and less than 36 inches in height and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system. Under previous law, a person committed an offense if the child was younger than four years of age or less than 36 inches in height. The bill establishes that the offense does not apply to third-party transport service providers when providing nonemergency Medicaid transportation. The bill establishes that it is a defense to prosecution of such an offense that the defendant provides proof of possessing an appropriate child passenger safety system and provides that for purposes of the driver responsibility program, such an offense is a moving violation of a traffic law. The bill specifies when the requirement to complete an approved driving safety course does not apply to a defendant charged with such an offense. In addition, the bill provides that a person commits an offense if the person operates a passenger vehicle that is equipped with safety belts and allows a child who is younger than 17 years of age and who is not required to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system to ride in the vehicle without being secured by a safety belt. It requires the Department of Public Safety to study legislative options to improve child passenger safety laws and report to the legislature on or before September 1, 2006.