HB 1037 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to child safety in motor vehicles; 2
providing a short title; creating s. 316.2226, F.S.; 3
defining the term "motor vehicle"; requiring a person 4
who uses a motor vehicle to transport children of a 5
certain age to equip such motor vehicle with an alarm 6
system that prompts the driver to inspect the motor 7
vehicle for unattended occupants before exiting; 8
providing penalties; requiring the Department of 9
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to initiate a public 10
awareness campaign regarding such alarm systems; 11
requiring the department to adopt by rule minimum 12
safety standards for such systems and to maintain a 13
list of approved alarm manufacturers and alarm 14
systems; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; revising 15
transportation safety minimum standards for the 16
licensure of child care facilities; providing an 17
effective date. 18
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WHEREAS, the leaving of children unattended in vehicles and 20
the independent access of unoccupied v ehicles by children are 21
significant public health and safety problems, and 22
WHEREAS, millions of children are transported every day in 23
the back seats of vehicles and are at risk of being 24
inadvertently left inside vehicles, which may result in their 25
HB 1037 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
deaths or serious injuries as the result of heat stroke, and 26
WHEREAS, Kids and Car Safety reports that, between 1990 and 27
2022, at least 8,000 children were left alone in hot cars or 28
independently gained access to unoccupied cars, with more than 29
990 of those children dying of heat stroke and more than 1,200 30
of them becoming seriously injured, and 31
WHEREAS, despite widespread education programs and public 32
awareness initiatives over the past 30 years, the number of hot 33
car deaths among children has continued to rise , and 34
WHEREAS, inexpensive technology is currently available to 35
detect and alert drivers to the presence of an unattended 36
occupant in a vehicle, NOW, THEREFORE, 37
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 39
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Jace Lucas Leslie 41
Act." 42
Section 2. Section 316.2226, Florida Statutes, is created 43
to read: 44
316.2226 Unattended occupant alarm system required. — 45
(1) As used in this section, the term "motor vehicle" 46
means a motor vehicle as defined in s . 316.003 which is operated 47
on the roadways, streets, and highways of this state. The term 48
does not include: 49
(a) A bus used for the transportation of persons for 50
HB 1037 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
compensation. 51
(b) A farm tractor or implement of husbandry. 52
(c) A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of more 53
than 26,000 pounds. 54
(d) A motorcycle, a moped, a bicycle, or an electric 55
bicycle. 56
(2) By October 1, 2024, a person who uses a motor vehicle 57
to transport one or more children 6 years of age or younger must 58
equip such motor vehicle with an alarm system approved by the 59
department which prompts the driver to inspect the motor vehicle 60
for unattended occupants before exiting the motor vehicle. 61
(3) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic 62
infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in 63
chapter 318. 64
(4) By September 1, 2024, the department shall initiate a 65
public awareness campaign to educate individuals regarding the 66
alarm system required under subsection (2). 67
(5) The department shall adopt by rule min imum safety 68
standards for such systems and shall maintain a list of approved 69
alarm manufacturers and alarm systems that meet or exceed those 70
standards. 71
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 72
402.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to read : 73
402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities. — 74
(10) TRANSPORTATION SAFETY. — 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(a) Minimum standards must shall include all of the 76
following: 77
1. Requirements for child restraints or seat belts in 78
vehicles used by child care facilities and larg e family child 79
care homes to transport children. 80
2. Requirements for annual inspections of such vehicles. 81
3. Limitations on the number of children who that may be 82
transported in such vehicles. 83
4. Procedures to ensure that children are not 84
inadvertently left in vehicles when transported by the facility 85
or home and that systems are in place to ensure accountability 86
for children transported by such facilities and homes. 87
5. Procedures for notification of a child's emergency 88
contact if the child does not arrive at the scheduled time and 89
the facility or family day care home has not received an 90
advanced notification of the child's absence. 91
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 92