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I heard, wish I had the bill in front of me, that there is a bill that has either passed the senate or the house that would make seatbelt enforcement a secondary offense......once again. Anybody else hear that?
Found it:
Minnesota House votes to halt seat-belt stops
By Dennis Lien
[email protected]
Updated: 05/17/2011 11:50:26 PM CDT
By all measures, Minnesota's 2-year-old primary seat-belt law has saved lives.
But late Monday, as the state House debated a judiciary bill, an amendment repealing it was approved on a bipartisan basis. The overall bill then passed.
On Tuesday afternoon, state safety officials gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to criticize that initiative and to halt its momentum.
"The best tool that we have to improve public safety in Minnesota is in jeopardy as a result of a bill that passed in the House last night repealing the primary seat-belt law,'' Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman said.
Since the law was enacted in 2009, there have been 179 fewer serious injuries and 69 fewer fatalities involving unbelted motorists in the state, according to Cheri Marti, head of the Public Safety Department's Office of Traffic Safety. During that period, she said, seat-belt compliance has increased from 87 percent to 92 percent.
The 2009 law authorized police to stop motorists who are not wearing seat belts, even if they have not committed other violations. Until then, state law required drivers to wear belts, but cops couldn't pull them over unless they were speeding, running a stop sign or breaking some other traffic law.
Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, made a pitch late Monday to go back to the secondary seat-belt law approach. When he offered the amendment, he referred to police stops aimed at increasing compliance.
"I think it's totally unnecessary and
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is more of a revenue raiser than a safety issue,'' Rukavina said.
Twenty minutes later, the House approved the amendment, 75-55, with DFLers such as Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and Republicans such as Tony Cornish of Good Thunder joining forces to oppose it.
"This law is saving lives,'' Hortman implored.
Repealing the law would cost the state $600,000 a year in lost federal money, but that didn't worry some legislators
"How long are we going to sit here and let the federal government, over and over and over again, hold us hostage ...?'' said Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan.
Cornish said he was aggravated that the proposal was not discussed first in his public safety and crime prevention committee.
"I knew trouble was brewing, but I never knew they were going after the whole law,'' Cornish said.
No similar effort has been made so far in the Senate.
This week's legislative developments disappointed Katherine Cooper, whose 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, was killed in 1999 when she was ejected from a car during an accident. Meghan was not wearing a seat belt.
"For 10 years, I came to the Capitol to testify on this legislation and save lives, and it's working,'' she said.
Dennis Lien can be reached at 651-228-5588
Found it:
Minnesota House votes to halt seat-belt stops
By Dennis Lien
[email protected]
Updated: 05/17/2011 11:50:26 PM CDT
By all measures, Minnesota's 2-year-old primary seat-belt law has saved lives.
But late Monday, as the state House debated a judiciary bill, an amendment repealing it was approved on a bipartisan basis. The overall bill then passed.
On Tuesday afternoon, state safety officials gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to criticize that initiative and to halt its momentum.
"The best tool that we have to improve public safety in Minnesota is in jeopardy as a result of a bill that passed in the House last night repealing the primary seat-belt law,'' Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman said.
Since the law was enacted in 2009, there have been 179 fewer serious injuries and 69 fewer fatalities involving unbelted motorists in the state, according to Cheri Marti, head of the Public Safety Department's Office of Traffic Safety. During that period, she said, seat-belt compliance has increased from 87 percent to 92 percent.
The 2009 law authorized police to stop motorists who are not wearing seat belts, even if they have not committed other violations. Until then, state law required drivers to wear belts, but cops couldn't pull them over unless they were speeding, running a stop sign or breaking some other traffic law.
Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, made a pitch late Monday to go back to the secondary seat-belt law approach. When he offered the amendment, he referred to police stops aimed at increasing compliance.
"I think it's totally unnecessary and
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
is more of a revenue raiser than a safety issue,'' Rukavina said.
Twenty minutes later, the House approved the amendment, 75-55, with DFLers such as Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and Republicans such as Tony Cornish of Good Thunder joining forces to oppose it.
"This law is saving lives,'' Hortman implored.
Repealing the law would cost the state $600,000 a year in lost federal money, but that didn't worry some legislators
"How long are we going to sit here and let the federal government, over and over and over again, hold us hostage ...?'' said Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan.
Cornish said he was aggravated that the proposal was not discussed first in his public safety and crime prevention committee.
"I knew trouble was brewing, but I never knew they were going after the whole law,'' Cornish said.
No similar effort has been made so far in the Senate.
This week's legislative developments disappointed Katherine Cooper, whose 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, was killed in 1999 when she was ejected from a car during an accident. Meghan was not wearing a seat belt.
"For 10 years, I came to the Capitol to testify on this legislation and save lives, and it's working,'' she said.
Dennis Lien can be reached at 651-228-5588
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