TITLE: Relating to the offense of failing to secure a child in a child passenger safety seat system.

SUMMARY: Relating to the offense of failing to secure a child in a child passenger safety seat system.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the offense of failing to secure a child in a child passenger safety seat system. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 545.412(b), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than [$25 for the first offense and not more than] $250 [for a second or subsequent offense].SECTION 2. Section 545.4121(b), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) It is a defense to prosecution of a first [an] offense to which this section applies that the defendant provides to the court evidence satisfactory to the court that the defendant possesses an appropriate child passenger safety seat system for each child required to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system under Section 545.412(a). The defense does not apply if, at the time of the offense, the motor vehicle is involved in an accident. SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.