(a) A passenger who is 16 years of age or older in a bus shall be properly restrained by a safety belt.

(b) A parent, legal guardian, or chartering party shall not transport on a bus, or permit to be transported on a bus, a child, ward, or passenger who is eight years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, unless he or she is properly restrained by a safety belt.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (d), a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party shall not transport on a bus, or permit to be transported on a bus, a child, ward, or passenger who is under eight years of age and under four feet nine inches in height, unless he or she is acceptably restrained by a safety belt.

(d) If it is not possible to ensure a child, ward, or passenger who is under eight years of age and under four feet nine inches in height is acceptably restrained by a safety belt because of his or her size, a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party shall either secure him or her in an appropriate child passenger restraint system that meets applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, or if the child, ward, or passenger is under two years of age, may authorize a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party to hold him or her.

(e) (1) For purposes of this section, “acceptably restrained by a safety belt” means all of the following:

(A) The latch plate is securely fastened in the buckle.

(B) The lap belt shall be adjusted to fit low and tight across the hips or upper thighs, not the stomach area.

(C) The shoulder belt shall be adjusted snugly across the chest and the middle of the shoulder, away from the neck.

(D) The shoulder belt shall not be placed behind the back or under the arm.

(2) For purposes of this section, “properly restrained by a safety belt” means 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.

(3) For purposes of this section, “bus” means a bus that is equipped with safety belts, including a bus that is required to be equipped with a seatbelt assembly pursuant to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208).

(f) Subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) do not apply to a passenger that is leaving, has left, or is returning from his or her seat to use an onboard bathroom.

(g) If the bus is equipped with safety belts, the motor carrier shall maintain safety belts in good working order for the use of passengers of the vehicle.

(h) A motor carrier operating a bus equipped with safety belts shall do one of the following:

(1) Require the bus driver, before departure of a bus carrying passengers, to inform passengers of the requirement to wear the seatbelt under California law and inform passengers that not wearing a seatbelt is punishable by a fine.

(2) Post, or allow to be posted, signs or placards that inform passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt under California law and that not wearing a seatbelt is punishable by a fine. The signs or placards shall be in a font type and font size that is reasonably easy to read and shall be affixed to a bus in multiple, conspicuous locations.

(i) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, a violation of subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (d) is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense.

(j) This section does not apply to a schoolbus described in Section 27316 or a school pupil activity bus described in Section 27316.5.

(k) This section shall be operative July 1, 2018.

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 593, Sec. 2. (SB 20) Effective January 1, 2018. Section operative July 1, 2018, by its own provisions.)