Booster seat requirements

A plan to keep some of the state’s youngest residents safer awaits gubernatorial action.

Sponsored by Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan), HF267/SF99* would require that youth be in a restraint system until their eighth birthday or they reach 4 feet 9 inches tall. Amended and passed 85-42 by the House May 11, the Senate repassed the bill 39-13 the next day.

Minnesota is one of six states that does not have a supplemental child restraint law. Current law, crafted 26 years ago before booster seats were developed, states a child passenger restraint system is required for children under age 4.

Hortman said that an improperly fitted adult safety belt could cause the lap belt to ride up over the stomach and the shoulder belt to cut across the neck. If the shoulder strap is uncomfortable, children often place it behind their backs, further defeating the safety benefits of the system.

Supporters said a backless booster seat, which raises a child so the belt properly goes across the shoulders and hips, costs less than $20.

Hortman said the height requirement comes from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth chart. House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) unsuccessfully offered an amendment to lower the requirement to age 5.

It would be a petty misdemeanor with the driver fined up to $50. The fine would be waived if the driver proves within 14 days that the operator has purchased a system for use. An amendment successfully offered by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake), and amended by Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder), states that “a peace officer may provide to the violator information on obtaining a free or low-cost child passenger restraint system.”

Approval of the law could also garner approximately $140,000 in federal funds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awards incentive funds for child passenger safety activities to states that enact a qualifying child restraint law.