HOUSE BILL 24-1055
BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Froelich and Pugliese, Lindstedt, Taggart,
Amabile, Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Brown, Clifford, Daugherty, Duran,
Frizell, Hamrick, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp, Lieder, Lindsay, Lukens, Mabrey,
Mauro, McLachlan, Ortiz, Ricks, Snyder, Story, Valdez, Vigil, Woodrow,
Young, McCluskie;
also SENATOR(S) Winter F. and Priola, Cutter, Exum, Jaquez Lewis,
Buckner, Michaelson Jenet, Roberts, Sullivan.
C
ONCERNING IMPROVING CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY .
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) Cars remain a leading cause of death for children in Colorado;
from 2015 to 2019, 48 children under age eight were killed in passenger
vehicle crashes. The Colorado department of transportation estimates that
59% to nearly 84% of children are improperly restrained while riding in a
vehicle.
(b) According to data from the federal centers for disease control
NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act. and prevention, American Indian and Alaska Native children and Black
children are more likely to be killed in a crash than white children. Children
in rural areas are also typically at higher risk, as studies indicate that
children in rural areas are more likely to be incorrectly restrained than
children in urban areas.
(c) In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its child
passenger safety best practice recommendations to optimize safety in
passenger vehicles for children from birth through adolescence. Colorado's
child passenger safety laws related to car seats, booster seats, and seat belt
requirements have not been updated in over a decade and have fallen behind
in ensuring children in Colorado are as safe as possible if or when a motor
vehicle crash occurs.
(d) It is critical for families to have timely access to replacement car
seats following an accident and when children have medically complex
needs requiring specialized adaptive car seats; and
(e) Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, and the United
States Virgin Islands require children younger than 2 years old to be in a
rear-facing child safety seat. Research shows that children aged 0 to 4 years
are less likely to be injured in a motor vehicle crash if they are restrained in
a rear-facing car seat, as opposed to a forward-facing car seat.
(2) Therefore, the general assembly further declares that it is in the
best interest of the state of Colorado to modernize child passenger safety
laws.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 42-4-236, amend
(2)(a), (2)(b), (3)(b), and (4) as follows:
42-4-236. Child restraint systems required - definitions -
exemptions. (2) (a) (I) Unless exempted pursuant to subsection (3) of this
section and except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs (II) and (III) of
this paragraph (a) SUBSECTIONS (2)(a)(II), (2)(a)(III), AND (2)(a)(IV) OF
THIS SECTION
, every child who is under eight
NINE years of age and who is
being transported in this state in a motor vehicle or in a vehicle operated by
a child care center shall be properly restrained in a child restraint system
according to the manufacturer's instructions.
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 24-1055 (II) If the child is less than one year TWO YEARS of age, and weighs
less than twenty pounds, the child shall be properly restrained in a
rear-facing child restraint system in a rear seat of the vehicle, IF A REAR
SEAT IS AVAILABLE
, AND:
(A) I
N A REAR-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM IF THE CHILD
WEIGHS UNDER FORTY POUNDS
; OR
(B) IN A REAR-FACING OR FORWARD -FACING CHILD RESTRAINT
SYSTEM IF THE CHILD WEIGHS FORTY POUNDS OR MORE
.
(III) If the child is one year
TWO YEARS of age or older, but less than
four years of age, and weighs less than forty pounds, but at least twenty
pounds, the child shall be properly restrained: in a rear-facing or
forward-facing child restraint system.
(A) IN A REAR-FACING OR FORWARD -FACING CHILD RESTRAINT
SYSTEM
; AND
(B) IN THE REAR SEAT OF A VEHICLE, IF A REAR SEAT IS AVAILABLE.
(IV) I
F THE CHILD IS FOUR YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, BUT LESS THAN
NINE YEARS OF AGE
, AND WEIGHS AT LEAST FORTY POUNDS , THE CHILD
SHALL BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED
:
(A) I
N A CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM OR BOOSTER SEAT ; AND
(B) IN THE REAR SEAT OF A VEHICLE, IF A REAR SEAT IS AVAILABLE.
(b) Unless excepted pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, every
child who is at least eight
NINE years of age but less than sixteen EIGHTEEN
years of age who is being transported in this state in a motor vehicle or in a vehicle operated by a child care center shall be properly restrained in a safety belt or child restraint system according to the manufacturer's instructions.
(3) Except as provided in section 42-2-105.5 (4), subsection (2) of
this section does not apply to a child who:
(b) Is less than eight
NINE years of age and is being transported in
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 24-1055 a motor vehicle as a result of a medical or other life-threatening emergency
and a child restraint system is not available;
(4) The division of highway safety shall
USE EXISTING NATIONAL
HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION OCCUPANT PROTECTION GRANT
FUNDS TO
implement a program for public information and education
concerning
UPDATES TO CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS , the use
of child restraint systems, and the provisions of this section.
SECTION 3. Effective date. This act takes effect January 1, 2025.
SECTION 4. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
PAGE 4-HOUSE BILL 24-1055 the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state
institutions.
____________________________ ____________________________
Julie McCluskie Steve Fenberg
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
____________________________ ____________________________
Robin Jones Cindi L. Markwell
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE SECRETARY OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
PAGE 5-HOUSE BILL 24-1055