(a) A manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer shall not sell, offer for sale, or install in a motor vehicle, a child passenger restraint system that does not conform to all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards on the date of manufacture. Responsibility for compliance with this section shall rest with the individual selling the system, offering the system for sale, or installing the system. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as follows:
(1) Upon a first conviction, by a fine not exceeding four hundred dollars ($400), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than 90 days, or both.
(2) Upon a second or subsequent conviction, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than 180 days, or both.
(b) The fines collected for a violation of this section shall be allocated as follows:
(1) (A) Sixty percent to the county or city health department where the violation occurred, to be used for a child passenger restraint low-cost purchase or loaner program which shall include, but not be limited to, education on the proper installation and use of a child passenger restraint system. The county health department shall designate a coordinator to facilitate the creation of a special account and to develop a relationship with the superior court to facilitate the transfer of funds to the program. The county may contract for the implementation of the program. Prior to obtaining possession of a child passenger restraint system pursuant to this section, a person shall receive information relating to the importance of utilizing that system.
(B) As the proceeds from fines become available, county health departments shall prepare and maintain a listing of all child passenger restraint low-cost purchase or loaner programs in their counties, including a semiannual verification that all programs listed are in existence. Each county shall forward the listing to the Office of Traffic Safety in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and the courts, birthing centers, community child health and disability prevention programs, and county hospitals in that county, who shall make the listing available to the public. The Office of Traffic Safety shall maintain a listing of all of the programs in the state.
(2) Twenty-five percent to the county for the administration of the program.
(3) Fifteen percent to the city, to be deposited in its general fund except that, if the violation occurred in an unincorporated area, this amount shall be allocated to the county for purposes of paragraph (1).
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 22, Sec. 204. Effective January 1, 2006.)