By Goolsby H.B. No. 30
76R1616 DWS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the wearing of safety belts by certain vehicle
1-3 operators and passengers.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 545.413(a), (b), and (h), Transportation
1-6 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) A person commits an offense if the person:
1-8 (1) is at least 15 years of age;
1-9 (2) is riding in [the front seat of] a passenger car
1-10 while the vehicle is being operated;
1-11 (3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety
1-12 belt; and
1-13 (4) is not secured by a safety belt.
1-14 (b) A person commits an offense if the person:
1-15 (1) operates a passenger car that is equipped with
1-16 safety belts; and
1-17 (2) allows a child who is at least four years of age
1-18 but younger than 15 years of age to ride in [the front seat of] the
1-19 vehicle without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt.
1-20 (h) In this section:
1-21 (1) "Passenger[, "passenger] car" includes a pickup
1-22 truck.
1-23 (2) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder
1-24 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle
2-1 [with a manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of not more than
2-2 1,500 pounds].
2-3 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-4 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-5 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
2-6 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
2-7 occurs before that date.
2-8 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-9 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
2-10 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
2-11 purpose.
2-12 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-13 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.