Senate Bill S2265

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring certain child passengers in a taxi or livery to be restrained by a child restraint system

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 16, 2025	referred to transportation

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1540
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1229-c, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S8020, A6188
2023-2024: S890, A1626

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires that no person under four years of age shall be a passenger in a taxi or livery unless such person is restrained by a child restraint system; requires that no person four years of age or older but under age eight shall be a passenger in a taxi or livery unless such person is restrained in an appropriate child restraint system; establishes violations of such provisions shall be punished by a civil fine of up to fifty dollars.

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2265

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
certain child passengers in a taxi or livery to be restrained by a child
restraint system

 
PURPOSE:

To require that children under eight years of age are secured in an
appropriate car seat or booster seat while riding in a taxi or limou-
sine.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends subdivision 3-c of section 1229-c of the vehicle and
traffic law by adding two new paragraphs, (d) and (e), which provide
that no person under four years of age and no person four years of age
or older but under age eight shall be a passenger in a taxi or livery
unless such person is restrained in a child restraint system.

Section two amends Subdivision 5 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and
traffic law by adding paragraph (e) of subdivision three-c of that
section to the listed paragraphs, such that in any prosecution or
proceeding alleging a violation of that paragraph it shall be an affir-
mative defense that the passenger subject to the requirements of such
paragraph was restrained by a safety belt and measures more than four
feet nine inches in height and/or weighs more than one hundred pounds,
and by adding paragraph (d) and paragraph (e) of subdivision three-c of
that section to the listed paragraphs, such that in any prosecution or
proceeding alleging a violation of either of those paragraphs, it shall
be an affirmative defense that such taxi or livery was in violation of
subdivision four-b of section three hundred eighty-three of that chap-
ter.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2020 a package of limousine safety measures was enacted, which
required that all passengers over the age of eight must be restrained by
a safety belt before a person can operate a,taxi or livery. This bill
will fill the gap for children younger than eight years of age by
requiring them to be restrained by the appropriate child restraint
system while riding in a taxi or livery.

The CDC reports that using age- and size-appropriate car and booster
seats can decrease the likelihood of serious injury and death by 50
percent. New York State has long recognized the importance of car seats
and booster seats by requiring that children under eight are secured in
an appropriate child restraint system when riding as passengers in regu-
lar cars. This bill will ensure that the smallest and most vulnerable
passengers, children under 8 years of age, are in a car seat regardless
of the type of car they ride in.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.890 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Transportation

A.1626 of 2023-2024 (Paulin): Died in Transportation

S.8020 of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Transportation

A.6188 of 2021-2022 (Paulin): Died in Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2265
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
   certain  child  passengers  in  a taxi or livery to be restrained by a
   child restraint system

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 3-c of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traf-
 fic law is amended by adding two new paragraphs (d) and (e) to  read  as
 follows:
   (D)  NO  PERSON UNDER FOUR YEARS OF AGE SHALL BE A PASSENGER IN A TAXI
 OR LIVERY UNLESS SUCH PERSON IS RESTRAINED IN A CHILD  RESTRAINT  SYSTEM
 AS  DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF  SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION. A
 POLICE OFFICER SHALL ONLY ISSUE A SUMMONS FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS  PARA-
 GRAPH  TO THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF SUCH PERSON IF THE VIOLATION BY SUCH
 PERSON OCCURS IN THE PRESENCE OF SUCH PERSON'S PARENT  OR  GUARDIAN  AND
 WHERE  SUCH  PARENT  OR  GUARDIAN IS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR MORE. SUCH
 SUMMONS SHALL ONLY BE ISSUED TO SUCH PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND SHALL NOT BE
 ISSUED TO THE PERSON UNDER FOUR YEARS OF AGE.
   (E) NO PERSON FOUR YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER BUT UNDER AGE EIGHT SHALL  BE
 A  PASSENGER  IN A TAXI OR LIVERY UNLESS SUCH PERSON IS RESTRAINED IN AN
 APPROPRIATE CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDI-
 VISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION. A POLICE OFFICER SHALL ONLY ISSUE A SUMMONS
 FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH TO THE  PARENT  OR  GUARDIAN  OF  SUCH
 PERSON  IF  THE  VIOLATION BY SUCH PERSON OCCURS IN THE PRESENCE OF SUCH
 PERSON'S PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND WHERE SUCH PARENT OR GUARDIAN  IS  EIGH-
 TEEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  OR MORE. SUCH SUMMONS SHALL ONLY BE ISSUED TO SUCH
 PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND SHALL NOT BE ISSUED TO  THE  PERSON  UNDER  EIGHT
 YEARS OF AGE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04428-01-5
 S. 2265                             2

   §  2.  Subdivision 5 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
 as amended by chapter 38 of the laws of 2020,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5.  Any  person  who  violates  the  provisions  of subdivision three,
 three-c or ten-a of this section shall be punished by a civil fine of up
 to fifty dollars. Any person who violates the provisions of  subdivision
 one,  two,  eleven  or  thirteen  of this section shall be punished by a
 civil fine of not less  than  twenty-five  nor  more  than  one  hundred
 dollars.  In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation of para-
 graph (b) of subdivision one [or], paragraph (c) of subdivision two,  OR
 PARAGRAPH  (E)  of  SUBDIVISION  THREE-C OF this section, it shall be an
 affirmative defense that the passenger subject to  the  requirements  of
 such  paragraphs  was restrained by a safety belt and measures more than
 four feet nine inches in height and/or  weighs  more  than  one  hundred
 pounds.  In  any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation of para-
 graph (b) [or], paragraph (c), PARAGRAPH (D) OR PARAGRAPH (E) of  subdi-
 vision  three-c of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that
 such taxi or livery was in violation of subdivision  four-b  of  section
 three hundred eighty-three of this chapter.
   §  3.  Subdivision 5 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
 as amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 2024, is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5.  Any  person  who  violates  the  provisions  of subdivision three,
 three-c, three-d or ten-a of this section shall be punished by  a  civil
 fine  of  up to fifty dollars. Any person who violates the provisions of
 subdivision one, two, eleven  or  thirteen  of  this  section  shall  be
 punished  by a civil fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than one
 hundred dollars. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging  a  violation
 of  paragraph  (b) of subdivision one [or], paragraph (c) of subdivision
 two, OR PARAGRAPH (E) of SUBDIVISION  THREE-C OF this section, it  shall
 be an affirmative defense that the passenger subject to the requirements
 of  such  paragraphs  was  restrained by a safety belt and measures more
 than four feet nine inches in height and/or weighs more than one hundred
 pounds. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation  of  para-
 graph (b) [or], paragraph (c)), PARAGRAPH (D) OR PARAGRAPH (E) of subdi-
 vision  three-c of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that
 such taxi or livery was in violation of subdivision  four-b  of  section
 three  hundred  eighty-three  of  this  chapter.  In  any prosecution or
 proceeding alleging a violation of subdivision three-d of this  section,
 it  shall  be  an  affirmative  defense  that  such  charter bus was not
 equipped with seat belts, or such seat belts were not  clearly  visible,
 accessible, or maintained in good working order.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing  the  date  on  which it shall have become a law; provided, however,
 that if chapter 434 of the laws of 2024 shall not have taken  effect  on
 or  before  such date then section four of this act shall take effect on
 the same date and in the same manner as such  chapter  of  the  laws  of
 2024, takes effect.

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Senate Bill S2265

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Actions

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Actions

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2265 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments