Sponsors (3)
The bill funds a targeted education campaign that can reduce child injury risk by raising awareness of counterfeit and noncompliant car seats, but it relies on outreach (not subsidies) and leaves unresolved state-level uncertainties and potential costs that could limit reach and shift burdens to low-income families and state budgets.
Parents and caregivers will be better able to identify and avoid counterfeit or noncompliant car seats and boosters, reducing children's risk of injury in crashes.
The bill provides $1.5 million in dedicated funding to run a sustained public education campaign, supporting outreach and materials until the funds are expended.
Improved public awareness may reduce demand for illicit or unsafe child restraint products and encourage greater compliance with federal safety standards, protecting consumers.
Low-income and other high-risk families may remain unable to access compliant replacement seats because the campaign provides education but no subsidies or replacement assistance, limiting real-world safety gains.
If outreach is limited or insufficient, the campaign may fail to reach high-risk or underserved communities (rural, low-income), reducing its effectiveness in preventing injuries.
The amendment language in section 3 is unclear: it could create new authorities or requirements for state highway safety programs and impose administrative costs or funding reallocations on states, producing budgetary impacts and uncertainty for state governments and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOT to run a consumer education campaign on counterfeit or noncompliant child restraint systems and authorizes $1.5 million to do so; also amends a highway safety statute (inserted text not provided).
Requires the Department of Transportation to run a public education campaign about the dangers of counterfeit or noncompliant child restraint systems (car seats and booster seats) and how to spot and avoid them, with $1.5 million authorized to carry out the campaign. Also renames the act with a short title and proposes an unspecified amendment to the federal highway safety programs statute; the text of that amendment is not provided in the excerpt.
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Laura Gillen · Last progress February 25, 2026