Title: Child Restraint Requirements

Summary: Increasing the age of children for whom operators of motor vehicles must provide protection by using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device; increasing the age of children for whom a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to child restraint requirements; amending s. 316.613, F.S.; increasing the age of children for whom operators of motor vehicles must provide protection by using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device; increasing the age of children for whom a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 316.613, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 316.613 Child restraint requirements.  (1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined in this section, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. 1. For children aged through years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer s integrated child seat. 2. For children aged through years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used. However, the requirement to use a child restraint device under this subparagraph does not apply when a safety belt is used as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) and the child: a. Is being transported gratuitously by an operator who is not a member of the child s immediate family; b. Is being transported in a medical emergency situation involving the child; or c. Has a medical condition that necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate documentation from a health care professional. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.