California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 20 — Vehicles: buses: seatbelts.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 593, Statutes of 2017.

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 05, 2016. Enacted.

Prognosis

Advancing 56% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or over are properly restrained by a safety belt. Existing law makes the violation of this provision an infraction. This bill would also require a passenger who is 16 years of age or older in a bus that is equipped with safety belts to be properly restrained by a safety belt and would require a motor carrier to maintain those safety belts in good working order for the use of the passengers. The bill would prohibit a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, or permitting to be transported on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, a child, ward, or passenger who is 8 years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, unless he or she is properly restrained by a safety belt. The bill would also prohibit a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, or permitting to be transported on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, a child, ward, or passenger who is under 8 years of age and under 4 feet 9 inches in height, unless he or she is acceptably restrained by a safety belt, except as specified. The bill would exempt a passenger leaving his or her seat to use an onboard bathroom from the seatbelt requirement. The bill would also require a motor carrier operating a bus equipped with safety belts to either: (1) require the bus driver to inform passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt or (2) post, or allow to be posted, signs or placards informing passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt, as specified. The bill would make a violation of the provisions requiring a passenger to wear a safety belt, an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $20 for a first offense and a fine of not more than $50 for each subsequent offense. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to a schoolbus or a school pupil activity bus, as defined. This bill, if the bus is equipped with a driver safety belt, would require the driver to be properly restrained by the safety belt and would require the motor carrier to maintain the driver safety belt. The bill would make violation of these provisions an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $20 for the first violation and of up to $50 for subsequent violations. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation to ensure that drivers of certain vehicles provide each passenger with written or video instructions that include, among other things, the importance of wearing a seatbelt, if available. A violation of this provision is an infraction. This bill would instead require those written or video instructions to include, among other things, instructions on the requirement to wear a seatbelt, if available, and the penalties for violating that requirement. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make a technical correction and other conforming changes. The provisions of this bill would become operative on July 1, 2018. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12810.2 of the Vehicle Code proposed by SB 810 and would make these changes operative only if this bill and SB 810 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 593, Statutes of 2017.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2838.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 3200.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended.

  9. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From consent calendar on motion of Assembly Member Calderon.

  11. Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

  12. From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 30).

  13. August 23 hearing postponed by committee.

  14. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  15. July 19 hearing postponed by committee.

  16. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  17. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 26).

  18. Referred to Com. on TRANS.

  19. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  20. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 767.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  21. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  22. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 708.) (April 17).

  23. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  24. Set for hearing April 17.

  25. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  26. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on T. & H.

  27. Set for hearing March 28.

  28. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on T. & H.

  29. Referred to Com. on T. & H.

  30. From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 5.

  31. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 118 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Hill

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (118)

118 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 118 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety transportation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 20 do?
Existing law prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or over are properly restrained by a safety belt. Existing law makes the violation of this provision an infraction. This bill would also require a passenger who is 16 years of age or older in a bus that is equipped with safety belts to be properly restrained by a safety belt and would require a motor carrier to maintain those safety belts in good working order for the use of the passengers. The bill would prohibit a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, or permitting to be transported on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, a child, ward, or passenger who is 8 years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, unless he or she is properly restrained by a safety belt. The bill would also prohibit a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, or permitting to be transported on a bus that is equipped with safety belts, a child, ward, or passenger who is under 8 years of age and under 4 feet 9 inches in height, unless he or she is acceptably restrained by a safety belt, except as specified. The bill would exempt a passenger leaving his or her seat to use an onboard bathroom from the seatbelt requirement. The bill would also require a motor carrier operating a bus equipped with safety belts to either: (1) require the bus driver to inform passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt or (2) post, or allow to be posted, signs or placards informing passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt, as specified. The bill would make a violation of the provisions requiring a passenger to wear a safety belt, an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $20 for a first offense and a fine of not more than $50 for each subsequent offense. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to a schoolbus or a school pupil activity bus, as defined. This bill, if the bus is equipped with a driver safety belt, would require the driver to be properly restrained by the safety belt and would require the motor carrier to maintain the driver safety belt. The bill would make violation of these provisions an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $20 for the first violation and of up to $50 for subsequent violations. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation to ensure that drivers of certain vehicles provide each passenger with written or video instructions that include, among other things, the importance of wearing a seatbelt, if available. A violation of this provision is an infraction. This bill would instead require those written or video instructions to include, among other things, instructions on the requirement to wear a seatbelt, if available, and the penalties for violating that requirement. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make a technical correction and other conforming changes. The provisions of this bill would become operative on July 1, 2018. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12810.2 of the Vehicle Code proposed by SB 810 and would make these changes operative only if this bill and SB 810 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.
Who sponsors SB 20?
SB 20 is sponsored by Hill, Nazarian, Eduardo Garcia, and Mark Stone.
What is the current status of SB 20?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 05, 2016. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 20?
Track SB 20 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 20

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 20

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →