CA AB 435
enactedVehicles: child passenger restraints.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did CA AB 435 pass?
Yes. CA AB 435 has been enacted into law as of 2025-10-07. Latest recorded action (2025-10-07): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 434, Statutes of 2025.
What is CA AB 435 about?
Existing law requires a parent, legal guardian, or driver who transports a child under 16 years of age on a highway in a motor vehicle to properly secure that child in an appropriate child passenger restraint system or safety belt, as specified. Existing law authorizes a child or ward under 8 years of age who is 4 feet 9 inches in height or taller to be properly restrained by a safety belt rather than by a child passenger restraint system. Existing law prohibits the operator of a limousine for hire, an authorized emergency vehicle, or a taxicab from operating the limousine for hire, authorized emergency vehicle, or taxicab unless the operator and any passengers 8 years of age or older in the front seat are properly restrained by a safety belt. Existing law also prohibits a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus, or permit to be transported on a bus, a child, ward, or passenger who is 8 years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, unless they are properly restrained by a safety belt, and unless they are acceptably restrained by a safety belt for a child, ward, or passenger who is under 8 years of age and under 4 feet 9 inches in height. A violation of these provisions is an infraction. Existing law defines, for purposes of the above provisions, "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that the lap belt crosses the hips or upper thighs of the occupant and the shoulder belt, if present, crosses the chest in front of the occupant. Existing law defines "acceptably restrained by a safety belt" to mean the latch plate is securely fastened in the buckle, the lap belt is adjusted to fit low and tight across the hips or upper thighs, not the stomach area, the shoulder belt is adjusted snugly across the chest and the middle of the shoulder, away from the neck, and the shoulder belt is not placed behind the back or under the arm. This bill would instead, commencing January 1, 2027, define "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that the child, ward, or passenger meets the requirements of the 5-Step test, which includes that the child, ward, or passenger is sitting all the way back against the auto seat, the knees of the child, ward, or passenger bend over the edge of the auto seat, the shoulder belt snugly crosses the center of the child, ward, or passenger's chest and shoulder, not the child, ward, or passenger's neck, the lap belt is as low as possible and is touching the child, ward, or passenger's thighs, and the child, ward, or passenger can stay seated like this for the whole trip. By changing this definition and thereby expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Who sponsors CA AB 435?
Wilson is the primary sponsor of CA AB 435.
Description
Existing law requires a parent, legal guardian, or driver who transports a child under 16 years of age on a highway in a motor vehicle to properly secure that child in an appropriate child passenger restraint system or safety belt, as specified. Existing law authorizes a child or ward under 8 years of age who is 4 feet 9 inches in height or taller to be properly restrained by a safety belt rather than by a child passenger restraint system. Existing law prohibits the operator of a limousine for hire, an authorized emergency vehicle, or a taxicab from operating the limousine for hire, authorized emergency vehicle, or taxicab unless the operator and any passengers 8 years of age or older in the front seat are properly restrained by a safety belt. Existing law also prohibits a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party from transporting on a bus, or permit to be transported on a bus, a child, ward, or passenger who is 8 years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, unless they are properly restrained by a safety belt, and unless they are acceptably restrained by a safety belt for a child, ward, or passenger who is under 8 years of age and under 4 feet 9 inches in height. A violation of these provisions is an infraction. Existing law defines, for purposes of the above provisions, "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that the lap belt crosses the hips or upper thighs of the occupant and the shoulder belt, if present, crosses the chest in front of the occupant. Existing law defines "acceptably restrained by a safety belt" to mean the latch plate is securely fastened in the buckle, the lap belt is adjusted to fit low and tight across the hips or upper thighs, not the stomach area, the shoulder belt is adjusted snugly across the chest and the middle of the shoulder, away from the neck, and the shoulder belt is not placed behind the back or under the arm. This bill would instead, commencing January 1, 2027, define "properly restrained by a safety belt" to mean that the child, ward, or passenger meets the requirements of the 5-Step test, which includes that the child, ward, or passenger is sitting all the way back against the auto seat, the knees of the child, ward, or passenger bend over the edge of the auto seat, the shoulder belt snugly crosses the center of the child, ward, or passenger's chest and shoulder, not the child, ward, or passenger's neck, the lap belt is as low as possible and is touching the child, ward, or passenger's thighs, and the child, ward, or passenger can stay seated like this for the whole trip. By changing this definition and thereby expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
- Introduced
- 2025-03-17
- Latest action
- 2025-10-07 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 434, Statutes of 2025.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Wilsonauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2025-02-06
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-02-07
From printer. May be heard in committee March 9.
2025-02-18
Referred to Com. on TRANS.
referral-committee
2025-03-17
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-18
Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.
referral-committee
2025-03-25
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-05-07
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (May 7).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-08
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-05-19
Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-05-23
Motion to reconsider made by Assembly Member Wilson.
2025-05-23
Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 35. Noes 12. Page 1657.).
failure,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-04
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 42. Noes 16. Page 2067.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-04
Reconsideration granted. (Page 2067.)
2025-06-05
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-18
Referred to Com. on TRANS.
referral-committee
2025-06-25
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on TRANS.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-09
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-08-19
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-08-20
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-02
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2393.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-02
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-08
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 49. Noes 13. Page 3012.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-15
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-07
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-07
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 434, Statutes of 2025.
became-law
Versions
- 02/06/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-06Compare
- 03/17/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-03-17Compare
- 05/19/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-05-19Compare
- 06/25/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-06-25Compare
- 09/10/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-10Compare
- 10/07/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-07Compare
- AB435Compare
- (document, no version)Compare
Documents
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Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-03-24 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Ward: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Papan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Hart: yes
- Tangipa: other
- Lackey: other
- Hadwick: other
- Davies: other
Do pass.
2025-05-07 · pass · 11-2
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Hart: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Solache: yes
- Sanchez: no
- Tangipa: no
- Ta: other
- Dixon: other
AB 435 Wilson Assembly Third Reading
2025-05-23 · fail · 35-12
Member-level votes (79)
- Zbur: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Solache: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Haney: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Hart: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Bains: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Caloza: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Patterson: no
- DeMaio: no
- Jeff Gonzalez: no
- Ellis: no
- Hadwick: no
- Castillo: no
- Alanis: no
- Hoover: no
- Macedo: no
- Gallagher: no
- Wallis: no
- Tangipa: no
- Sharp-Collins: other
- Davies: other
- Calderon: other
- Lee: other
- Valencia: other
- Flora: other
- Bryan: other
- Petrie-Norris: other
- Alvarez: other
- Dixon: other
- Addis: other
- Chen: other
- Lackey: other
- Berman: other
- Ward: other
- Irwin: other
- Gabriel: other
- Boerner: other
- Wicks: other
- Papan: other
- Patel: other
- Ransom: other
- Schiavo: other
- Michelle Rodriguez: other
- Nguyen: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Aguiar-Curry: other
- Sanchez: other
- Krell: other
- Ta: other
- Quirk-Silva: other
- Soria: other
AB 435 Wilson Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-04 · pass · 42-16
Member-level votes (79)
- Gipson: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Berman: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Haney: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Fong: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Bains: yes
- Soria: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Hart: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Solache: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- DeMaio: no
- Macedo: no
- Jeff Gonzalez: no
- Dixon: no
- Alanis: no
- Patterson: no
- Sanchez: no
- Gallagher: no
- Ellis: no
- Castillo: no
- Hadwick: no
- Tangipa: no
- Irwin: no
- Wallis: no
- Hoover: no
- Davies: no
- Lackey: other
- Michelle Rodriguez: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Chen: other
- Krell: other
- Ward: other
- Sharp-Collins: other
- Aguiar-Curry: other
- Schiavo: other
- Petrie-Norris: other
- Alvarez: other
- Flora: other
- Boerner: other
- Gabriel: other
- Patel: other
- Lee: other
- Nguyen: other
- Ta: other
- Ransom: other
- Valencia: other
- Quirk-Silva: other
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-07-08 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Arreguín: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Limón: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Strickland: other
3rd Reading AB435 Wilson By Cortese
2025-09-02 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Laird: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Jones: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Choi: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Becker: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Niello: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grove: yes
- Allen: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Stern: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Limón: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
AB 435 Wilson Concurrence in Senate Amendments
2025-09-08 · pass · 49-13
Member-level votes (80)
- Ahrens: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Fong: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Bains: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Soria: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Berman: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Zbur: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Johnson: no
- Dixon: no
- Hadwick: no
- Tangipa: no
- Macedo: no
- Gallagher: no
- Jeff Gonzalez: no
- Sanchez: no
- Castillo: no
- Ellis: no
- Alanis: no
- Wallis: no
- DeMaio: no
- Lee: other
- Hoover: other
- Valencia: other
- Nguyen: other
- Gipson: other
- Irwin: other
- Lackey: other
- Papan: other
- Patel: other
- Petrie-Norris: other
- Ward: other
- Boerner: other
- Chen: other
- Gabriel: other
- Davies: other
- Flora: other
- Patterson: other
- Ta: other
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
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