1-1 By: Moncrief S.B. No. 113
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed November 15, 2000; January 11, 2001,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
1-4 February 27, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas
1-5 5, Nays 0; February 27, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to vehicle passenger safety systems; providing criminal
1-9 penalties.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Subsections (a) and (f), Section 545.412,
1-12 Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-13 (a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a
1-14 passenger vehicle [car or light truck] and:
1-15 (1) transports a child younger than two years of age
1-16 and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the
1-17 vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the
1-18 instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system; or
1-19 (2) transports a child who is at least two years of
1-20 age but younger than four years of age and does not keep the child
1-21 secured during the operation of the vehicle:
1-22 (A) in a child passenger safety seat system
1-23 according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety
1-24 seat system; or
1-25 (B) by a safety belt.
1-26 (f) In this section:
1-27 (1) "Child[, "child] passenger safety seat system"
1-28 means an infant or child passenger restraint system that meets the
1-29 federal standards for crash-tested restraint systems as set by the
1-30 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
1-31 (2) "Passenger vehicle" means a passenger car, light
1-32 truck, sport utility vehicle, truck, or truck tractor.
1-33 (3) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder
1-34 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle.
1-35 (4) "Secured," in connection with use of a safety
1-36 belt, means using the lap belt and any shoulder straps according to
1-37 the instructions of:
1-38 (A) the manufacturer of the vehicle, if the
1-39 safety belt is original equipment; or
1-40 (B) the manufacturer of the safety belt, if the
1-41 safety belt has been added to the vehicle.
1-42 SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (h), Section
1-43 545.413, Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-44 (a) A person commits an offense if the person:
1-45 (1) is at least 15 years of age;
1-46 (2) is riding in the front seat of a passenger vehicle
1-47 [car] while the vehicle is being operated;
1-48 (3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety
1-49 belt; and
1-50 (4) is not secured by a safety belt.
1-51 (b) A person commits an offense if the person:
1-52 (1) operates a passenger vehicle [car or light truck]
1-53 that is equipped with safety belts; and
1-54 (2) allows a child who is at least four years of age
1-55 but younger than 17 [15] years of age to ride in the vehicle
1-56 without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt,
1-57 provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a
1-58 safety belt.
1-59 (c) A passenger vehicle [car] or a seat in a passenger
1-60 vehicle [car] is considered to be equipped with a safety belt if
1-61 the vehicle is required under Section 547.601 to be equipped with
1-62 safety belts.
1-63 (h) In this section, "passenger vehicle," "safety belt," and
1-64 "secured" have the meanings assigned by Section 545.412[:]
2-1 [(1) "Passenger car" includes a truck with a
2-2 manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of not more than 1,500
2-3 pounds.]
2-4 [(2) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder
2-5 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle].
2-6 SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
2-7 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-8 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
2-9 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
2-10 occurs before that date.
2-11 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-12 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
2-13 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
2-14 purpose.
2-15 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-16 * * * * *