1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to traffic regulations; requiring passenger restraint for children under 
1.3 	the age of eight in motor vehicles; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 
1.4 	169.685, subdivisions 5, 6.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 169.685, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 5.Violation; petty misdemeanor. (a) Every motor vehicle operator, when 
1.8 	transporting a child under the age of foureight on the streets and highways of this state 
1.9 	in a motor vehicle equipped with factory-installed seat belts, shall equip and install for 
1.10 	use in the motor vehicle, according to the manufacturer's instructions, a child passenger 
1.11 	restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards.
1.12 	(b) No motor vehicle operator who is operating a motor vehicle on the streets and 
1.13 	highways of this state may transport a child under the age of foureight in a seat of a motor 
1.14 	vehicle equipped with a factory-installed seat belt, unless the child is properly fastened 
1.15 	in the child passenger restraint system. Any motor vehicle operator who violates this 
1.16 	subdivision is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and may be sentenced to pay a fine of not 
1.17 	more than $50. The fine maymust be waived or the amount reduced if the motor vehicle 
1.18 	operator produces evidence that within 14 days after the date of the violation a child 
1.19 	passenger restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards was purchased 
1.20 	or obtained for the exclusive use of the operator.
1.21 	(c) The fines collected for violations of this subdivision must be deposited in the 
1.22 	state treasury and credited to a special account to be known as the Minnesota child 
1.23 	passenger restraint and education account.

2.1 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 169.685, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.2 		Subd. 6.Exceptions. (a) This section does not apply to:
2.3 	(1) a person transporting a child in an emergency medical vehicle while in the 
2.4 	performance of official duties and when the physical or medical needs of the child make 
2.5 	the use of a child passenger restraint system unreasonable or when a child passenger 
2.6 	restraint system is not available; and
2.7 	(2) a peace officer transporting a child while in the performance of official duties 
2.8 	and when a child passenger restraint system is not available, provided that a seat belt 
2.9 	must be substituted; and
2.10 	(3) a person while operating a motor vehicle for hire, including a taxi, airport 
2.11 	limousine, and bus, but excluding a rented, leased, or borrowed motor vehicle.
2.12 	(b) A child passenger restraint system is not required for a child who cannot, in the 
2.13 	judgment of a licensed physician, be safely transported in a child passenger restraint 
2.14 	system because of a medical condition, body size, or physical disability. A motor vehicle 
2.15 	operator claiming exemption for a child under this paragraph must possess a typewritten 
2.16 	statement from the physician stating that the child cannot be safely transported in a child 
2.17 	passenger restraint system. The statement must give the name and birth date of the child, 
2.18 	be dated within the previous six months, and be made on the physician's letterhead or 
2.19 	contain the physician's name, address, and telephone number. A person charged with 
2.20 	violating subdivision 5 may not be convicted if the person produces the physician's 
2.21 	statement in court or in the office of the arresting officer.
2.22 	(c) A person offering a motor vehicle for rent or lease shall provide a child passenger 
2.23 	restraint device to a customer renting or leasing the motor vehicle who requests the device. 
2.24 	A reasonable rent or fee may be charged for use of the child passenger restraint device.