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House says no to primary seat belts
An agreement designed to save lives and prevent injury did not receive House approval after more than an hour of sometimes emotional debate.
On a 72-62 vote, the House voted to return the committee report on HF3800*/SF3223 to the conference committee.
Sponsored by Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), the committee agreement contained a pair of provisions aimed at saving the lives of Minnesotans — mandatory seat belts and graduated driver’s licenses — but a booster seat requirement was reluctantly removed.
The centerpiece was making failure to wear a seatbelt a primary offense. The proposal would also have required all vehicle occupants to be buckled up. Currently, people ages 11 and up can ride in a back seat unbuckled. A motorist must now be stopped for another offense to be issued a citation for failing to wear a seatbelt.
Those wanting to send back the report did so because of this provision. Rep. Tim Faust (DFL-Mora) said the provision was forced on by the Senate, and House members could only "take it or leave it" without any hearings. Rep. A. Willie Dominguez (DFL-Mpls) warned it could help increase racial profiling, and others including Rep. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake) said wearing a seatbelt should be a personal choice.
The report also called for graduated driver’s license restrictions, based on HF2628, sponsored by Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester).
In part, it requires that during the first six months of provisional licensure, a licensee could not operate a vehicle carrying more than one passenger under age 20 who is not a member of their immediate family. That increases to three passengers the following six months.
Other provisions in the conference committee report included:
• making it illegal to text message when the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic;
• making sesquicentennial license plates available for purchase;
• a person who can document homelessness or eligibility for certain need-based relief that has their vehicle impounded could get back some essential contents under certain circumstances without paying for vehicle retrieval; and
• drivers would be required to move to a lane over when passing freeway service patrol, road maintenance and construction vehicles parked or stopped on roadway.
- Mike Cook
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