LCO No. 4307 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7196
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4307
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATION REGAR DING SEAT BELTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (c) of section 14-1
100a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is 2
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 3
(c) (1) The operator of and any [front seat] passenger in any motor 4
vehicle or fire fighting apparatus originally equipped with seat safety 5
belts complying with the provisions of 49 CFR 571.209, as amended 6
from time to time, shall wear such seat safety belt while the vehicle is 7
being operated on any highway, except as follows: 8
(A) A child under eight years of age shall be restrained as provided 9
in subsection (d) of this section; and 10
(B) The operator of such vehicle shall secure or cause to be secured 11
in a seat safety belt any passenger eight years of age or older and 12
under sixteen years of age. [; and 13 Raised Bill No. 7196
LCO No. 4307 2 of 3
(C) If the operator of such vehicle is under eighteen years of age, 14
such operator and each passenger in such vehicle shall wear such seat 15
safety belt while the vehicle is being operated on any highway.] 16
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not 17
apply to (A) any person whose physical disability or impairment 18
would prevent restraint in such safety belt, provided such person 19
obtains a written statement from a licensed physician or a licensed 20
advanced practice registered nurse containing reasons for such 21
person's inability to wear such safety belt and including information 22
concerning the nature and extent of such condition. Such person shall 23
carry the statement on his or her person or in the motor vehicle at all 24
times when it is being operated, [or] (B) an authorized emergency 25
vehicle, other than fire fighting apparatus, responding to an 26
emergency call or a motor vehicle operated by a rural letter carrier of 27
the United States postal service while performing his or her official 28
duties or by a person engaged in the delivery of newspapers, or (C) 29
any passenger on a bus having a tonnage rating of one ton or more. 30
Sec. 2. Section 54-33m of the general statutes is repealed and the 31
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 32
The failure of an operator of, or [front seat] passenger in, a private 33
passenger motor vehicle or vanpool vehicle to wear a seat safety belt as 34
required by section 14-100a, as amended by this act, shall not 35
constitute probable cause for a law enforcement official to conduct a 36
search of such vehicle and its contents. 37
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-100a(c)(1) and (2)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 54-33m
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Department of Public Health's recommendation to
require persons to wear seat belts in all positions of a vehicle. Raised Bill No. 7196
LCO No. 4307 3 of 3
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]