THE ISSUE:  Please support HB 2107 (Del. Michele McQuigg, R), which provides that any parent or other adult person responsible for the care of a child less than six years old who leaves such child unattended in a motor vehicle shall be subject to a fine.   

TAKE ACTION:

If your Delegate serves on the House Courts of Justice Committee, it is especially important for you to email, fax, or call as soon as possible.  You can send an email or fax directly from our web site (our system will do this for you, you do not need any special fax equipment). 

Click here to send a fax or email: 
http://capwiz.com/vic/issues/alert/?alertid=6833341&type=ST

House Courts of Justice:  McDonnell (Chair), Albo, Griffith, Kilgore, McQuigg, Black, Weatherholtz, Hurt, Athey, Janis, Bell, Marrs, McDougle, Reese, Johnson, Melvin, Armstrong, Moran, Barlow, Watts, Brink,  Ware (of Roanoke)

BACKGROUND:

Why do we need this bill?  Isn’t this problem covered by current child protective services laws?

There is no bright line definition in Virginia that lets people know it is not okay to leave children unattended in cars.  This past summer in Richmond two small children died of hyperthermia after having been left too long in a hot car.  In addition in recent years, law enforcement officers have seen an increase in the number of children being left alone in cars particularly while their parents are shopping.

The law is a way to educate the public about acceptable practice around leaving children alone in cars and to assist in changing caretaker behaviors.  Enacting child safety seat laws dramatically increased the use of child safety seats and reduced injuries and deaths of children in car accidents.  It is anticipated that the enactment of this legislation would similarly change behaviors and save lives.

Why was the age of 6-years-old for a child chosen? 

States that have enacted similar legislation apply the restriction to children of a wide variety of ages from 6 to 16.  Evidence shows that the younger the child, the more at risk they are. A child under the age of six is more susceptible to extreme temperature conditions and is unlikely to be able to extract him or herself from the car seat or locked vehicle.

What if the parent just runs into the store for a minute to pay for gas and can see the child through the store window?

The definition of “unattended” in the proposed bill states that “a child is unattended when the person responsible for the care of the child cannot reasonably aid or assist the child in the event of an emergency.” Accordingly, law enforcement officials will have reasonable parameters under which to charge caretakers and judges can decide the reasonableness of the charges.

What if a parent leaves the child in a car in his/her own driveway?

Because this law treats the offense like a traffic offense, it would normally not be enforced on private property unless the property owner had an enforcement agreement with the local police. 

Why are the fines being deposited in the Child Restraint Device Special Fund? 

The fines are being directed to the Child Restraint Device Special Fund so that education about what can happen to children left unattended in cars can be added to the educational programs and materials distributed with car seats to the low income families with newborns.  Currently there is not enough money collected to fill the need for car seats around the state. Any extra funds will be used to provide seats to fill this need.

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Join the Virginia Interfaith Center on Thursday, February 3^rd from 8 am to 3:30 pm for “A Day at the General Assembly for All People of Faith” (formerly Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian Day).  We will meet at St. Paul’s Episcopal, 815 E. Grace Street, Richmond, but will spend a portion of the day at the Capitol.  See our Web site for more details.  Email office@Virginia Interfaith Center.org or call 804-643-2474 to register.  Your $15 registration fee includes lunch and materials.