House committee to amend car-seat reuse bill after safety, storage concerns from fire and transit agencies

At a public hearing of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, lawmakers considered Proyecto de la Cámara 806, a bill that would amend Law 204 of 2024 (the program for collection, reuse and recycling of child car seats) to allow the Traffic Safety Commission and the Fire Bureau to receive and reuse donated child car seats without requiring the original instruction manual.

The issue drew technical testimony and operational concerns from the agencies responsible for inspections and training. Vivian Pedraza, coordinator of the child-occupant program at the Commission for Traffic Safety, told the committee the commission “recognizes that many Puerto Rican families lack the resources” to buy new seats and that donated seats often do not include the original manual, but she argued the law should retain the factory label. “We understand that the requirement that equipment be accompanied by the instruction manual can be removed from the text of the law,” Pedraza said, while adding that labels are “essential to identify the manufacture date, model of the seat, so that its service life can be determined.”

Luis Cordero Rivera, legal representative for the Negociado del Cuerpo de Bomberos (Fire Bureau) within the Department of Public Safety, urged caution. The bureau’s written and oral testimony accepted the child-safety goals of Law 204 but recommended not approving the proposed amendment as drafted. Cordero Rivera said the bureau lacks warehouse space and budget to store seats long-term and that not all fire stations have certified car-seat technicians. “From a public-safety perspective we cannot endorse the proposed amendments,” he said, urging the committee to consider the bureau’s operational limits.

Inspector Fe Ramos, the Fire Bureau staff member who works directly with the child-seat program, demonstrated two donated seats during testimony and emphasized the difference between a seat that has a readable factory label and manual and one that has neither. When asked about expected usable life, Ramos said a typical seat’s life is 10 years; she also described how manuals contain specific installation instructions tied to vehicle models and restraints.

Agencies provided additional operational details: the Fire Bureau said it currently has 96 stations, of which 66 have assigned car-seat technicians; total firefighter roster was stated as 1,926; the bureau reported 110 personnel trained as car-seat technicians. The Traffic Safety Commission said it operates certification courses (a one-week course with a final hands-on inspection event) and that it has two certified instructors on the island who run training sessions twice a year; the commission described a pathway for technicians to become instructors after two years of field experience.

Committee members pressed for more data and for practical fixes. Lawmakers asked the agencies to provide, within five days, statistics on how many donated seats have been received since the law took effect in 2024 and details about storage capacity and technician coverage. The committee chair said members would work to amend the bill to keep the factory label requirement in place (so donors and inspectors can confirm manufacture date and model) while exploring whether the Traffic Safety Commission could serve as the official collection/warehouse point and the Fire Bureau continue providing inspection and installation services.

No formal vote on Proyecto de la Cámara 806 was recorded at the hearing. The committee committed to a follow-up meeting with the Department of Public Safety, the Fire Bureau and the Traffic Safety Commission to refine language, resolve storage and training gaps, and return a revised bill for further consideration.

The record shows the hearing emphasized technical safety standards cited by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding seat service life and post-crash replacement, operational limits in station storage and staffing, and potential mitigations such as posting manufacturers’ manuals online and expanding instructor certification locally.

Next steps: agencies will supply requested data to the committee within five days; the committee will draft and circulate proposed amendments retaining the factory-label requirement and will convene the promised interagency meeting to finalize the bill language before additional legislative action.