S.F. No. 4488 Summary

• Establishes new child passenger restraint requirements for children under 18 years old in Minnesota, replacing the previous law that only applied to children under 8 years old and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches.

• Requires children younger than 2 years old to use rear-facing child restraint systems until reaching manufacturer weight or height limits.

• Requires children ages 2-3 to use forward-facing child restraint systems with internal harnesses, and children ages 4-8 to use belt-positioning booster seats secured with vehicle lap-shoulder belts.

• Requires children ages 9-12 to use vehicle adult safety belts adjusted to fit correctly, and children younger than 13 years old must be transported in rear seats when available.

• Repeals the previous subdivision 5 of section 169.685 that applied only to children under age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, eliminating the $50 fine structure and replacing it with new comprehensive restraint standards.