--- type: "Bill" title: "Vehicles: child passenger restraints." 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." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20252026" identifier: "AB 435" citation: "California AB 435 (20252026)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Vehicles", "childpassengerrestraints"] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Wilson"] version_count: 7 action_count: 25 vote_count: 7 first_action: "2025-02-06" last_action: "2025-10-07" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0461d82c-94ba-42b4-93b1-7c521fbb3d15" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435" source_hash: "1f2e747c470f628f94948daff99840d1163fa0a8df582f04dbeb4064ecb53f15" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California AB 435 (20252026) — Vehicles: child passenger restraints. 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. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/06/25 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43599INT) 2. **03/17/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43598AMD) 3. **05/19/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43597AMD) 4. **06/25/25 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43596AMD) 5. **10/07/25 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43594CHP) 6. **AB435** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435) 7. **09/10/25 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB435&version=20250AB43595ENR) ## Votes - Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **12–0** (pass) · lower - AB 435 Wilson Assembly Third Reading — **42–16** (pass) · lower - Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **14–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass. — **11–2** (pass) · lower - AB 435 Wilson Assembly Third Reading — **35–12** (fail) · lower - 3rd Reading AB435 Wilson By Cortese — **40–0** (pass) · upper - AB 435 Wilson Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **49–13** (pass) · lower ## Sponsors - Wilson — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **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, reading-1, reading-2` - **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` - **2025-05-19** Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-05-23** Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 35. Noes 12. Page 1657.). `failure, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-05-23** Motion to reconsider made by Assembly Member Wilson. - **2025-06-04** Reconsideration granted. (Page 2067.) - **2025-06-04** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 42. Noes 16. Page 2067.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-06-05** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **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, 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-2` - **2025-08-20** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **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-favorable` - **2025-09-15** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m. - **2025-10-07** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2025-10-07** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 434, Statutes of 2025. `became-law` ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/0461d82c-94ba-42b4-93b1-7c521fbb3d15`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).