HOUSE ADOPTS CHILD SAFETY SEAT BILL

By a vote of 88-8, the House passed the child safety seat bill, Senate File 2066. Iowa’s current child safety seat law, which hasn’t seen any changes since 1985, requires a child under the age of three to be in a safety seat and children between three and six years to be in either a safety seat or using a seat belt.

Language passed by both the House and the Senate would require children under the age of six to be in a safety seat, and children under eleven years to be in either a safety seat or using a seat belt. Neither the current law nor the language in Senate File 2066 applies to children riding in a school bus or on a motorcycle.

The bill states that the departments make every possible effort to coordinate with other state and local governmental agencies that assist low-income families, in order help these families comply with this law. In Iowa, there are eight local SAFE KIDS coalitions who will help connect parents with organizations in their counties that can assist individuals who might need financial assistance in purchasing safety seats. Also, the Governor’s Traffic and Safety Bureau obtained $50,000 from the federal government to be awarded in the form of grants to counties to assist in purchasing safety seats.