republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20172018/ab-1798.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Schoolbuses: passenger restraint systems."
description: "Existing law requires that schoolbuses manufactured on or after July 1, 2004, or July 1, 2005, depending on vehicle capacity and weight, and purchased or leased for use in California be equipped with a passenger restraint system, as specified, at all designated seating positions, unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Existing law makes a violation of these requirements a crime."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20172018"
identifier: "AB 1798"
citation: "California AB 1798 (20172018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Schoolbuses: passenger restraint systems."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chu"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 21
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2018-01-09"
last_action: "2018-08-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6b76b0a3-62f7-4542-b07a-215cdfa9ee06"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798"
source_hash: "5a82d9a069ccb6bce32d29655de4ef48b7ac1d27295fe13bf49f5bdb88464c08"
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 1798 (20172018) — Schoolbuses: passenger restraint systems.

Existing law requires that schoolbuses manufactured on or after July 1, 2004, or July 1, 2005, depending on vehicle capacity and weight, and purchased or leased for use in California be equipped with a passenger restraint system, as specified, at all designated seating positions, unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Existing law makes a violation of these requirements a crime.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **01/09/18 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798&version=20170AB179899INT)
2. **03/14/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798&version=20170AB179898AMD)
3. **08/27/18 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798&version=20170AB179896CHP)
4. **AB1798** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798)
5. **08/10/18 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1798&version=20170AB179897ENR)

## Votes

- AB 1798 CHU Assembly Third Reading — **76–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **13–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. — **15–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB1798 Chu By Cannella — **36–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Chu — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-01-09** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2018-01-10** From printer. May be heard in committee February 9.
- **2018-01-22** Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and ED. `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-14** 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-2, reading-1`
- **2018-03-15** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-20** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on ED. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (March 19). Re-referred to Com. on ED. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-04-12** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (April 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-04-25** In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. `referral-committee`
- **2018-05-25** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 25). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2018-05-25** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-05-29** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 5388.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-05-30** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2018-06-07** Referred to Com. on T. & H. `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-20** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-08-06** From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage, reading-2`
- **2018-08-07** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-08-09** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 5235.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-08-09** In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. `committee-passage`
- **2018-08-14** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- **2018-08-27** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2018-08-27** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 206, Statutes of 2018.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6b76b0a3-62f7-4542-b07a-215cdfa9ee06`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).