1-1     By:  Van de Putte                                     S.B. No. 1367
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2001; March 13, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
 1-4     April 30, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 30, 2001,
 1-6     sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1367                By:  Moncrief
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the transportation of an unsecured child in a motor
1-11     vehicle; providing penalties.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 545.412, Transportation
1-14     Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-15           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person operates a
1-16     passenger car or light truck and[:]
1-17                 [(1)]  transports a child who is younger than five
1-18     [two] years of age and less than 36 inches in height and does not
1-19     keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a
1-20     child passenger safety seat system according to the instructions of
1-21     the manufacturer of the safety seat system[; or]
1-22                 [(2)  transports a child who is at least two years of
1-23     age but younger than four years of age and does not keep the child
1-24     secured during the operation of the vehicle:]
1-25                       [(A)  in a child passenger safety seat system
1-26     according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety
1-27     seat system; or]
1-28                       [(B)  by a safety belt].
1-29           SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 545.413, Transportation
1-30     Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-31           (b)  A person commits an offense if the person:
1-32                 (1)  operates a passenger car or light truck that is
1-33     equipped with safety belts; and
1-34                 (2)  allows a child who is at least five [four] years
1-35     of age but younger than 15 years of age or who is younger than five
1-36     years of age and at least 36 inches in height to ride in the
1-37     vehicle without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt,
1-38     provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a
1-39     safety belt.
1-40           SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
1-41     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
1-42     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
1-43     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
1-44     before that date.
1-45           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
1-46     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
1-47     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-48           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-49                                  * * * * *