Date: 04/28/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB09-296

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved a prepared amendment to Senate Bill 09-296,
Moved that Senate Bill 09-296 be referred to the C		Pass Without Objection
PASS


03:22 PM -- Senate Bill 09-296

Senator Boyd, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-296, concerning the enforcement of offenses involving failure of certain persons in a vehicle to use an appropriate restraining device. She commented on the costs of traffic accidents to the state of Colorado, and fatalities resulting from such traffic accidents. She commented further regarding insurance costs resulting from traffic accidents, and said that driving an automobile "is a right not a privilege." She said that primary enforcement of Colorado's seat belt law will make Colorado safer for all drivers. Senator Boyd said that enactment of Senate Bill 09-296 will not result in racial profiling. She noted that Colorado's roads present some of the most challenging driving in the country and added that Colorado's seat belt law is the only "secondary enforcement" law in the Colorado Revised Statutes.

The following persons testified in regard to Senate Bill 09-296:

03:33 PM -- Wave Dreher, representing AAA Colorado, supported Senate Bill 09-296. She commented on the adoption of the primary seat belt law in other states, and said that primary enforcement will save lives in Colorado. She added that the public pays higher insurance premiums as a result of the failure of drivers to wear seat belts.

03:35 PM -- Dr. Kathryn Emery, representing Children's Hospital and Safe Kids Metro Denver, said that safety belts save lives and that when adults buckle up their children are statistically more likely to wear seat belts.

03:38 PM -- Herman Stockinger, representing the Colorado Department of Transportation, supported Senate Bill 09-296, and said that the department is expected to receive approximately $12 million if the bill is enacted. He said that any federal funds received will be used by the department for safety improvements to roadways. He noted that 28 other states have primary seat belt laws.

03:41 PM -- Scott Hernandez, representing the Colorado State Patrol, said that the bill represents the next major opportunity for state governments to reduce traffic fatalities in the nation. He said that the Colorado State Patrol takes the issue of racial profiling very seriously and has no tolerance for this bias on the part of its officers.

03:44 PM -- Bobby Juchem, representing the Colorado State Patrol, added that the Colorado Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police organizations also do not tolerate racial profiling.

03:48 PM -- Lloyd Pearson, Arvada, representing himself, commented on his medical problems, and said that these problems prevent him from wearing a seat belt while driving. He said that primary enforcement of the seat belt law will require that he go to court every time that he is pulled over for failure to wear a seat belt. He said that provisions allowing for the certification of persons who are unable to wear a seat belt in the bill are inadequate.

04:01 PM -- Fran Coleman, representing the Brain Injury Association of Colorado, and Craig Hospital, supported Senate Bill 9-296. She commented on brain injuries that result from traffic accidents and she distributed a letter to the committee (Attachment B).

090428AttachB.pdf

04:02 PM -- Robert Bux, representing the Colorado Coroners Association, supported Senate Bill 09-296. He said that over 40 percent of persons killed in traffic accidents for whom he performs an autopsy were not wearing a seat belt.

04:05 PM -- Paul Cooke, representing the Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association, said that firefighters are the first responders to traffic accidents and he supported the bill.
BILL:SB09-296
TIME: 04:06:04 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Moved a prepared amendment to Senate Bill 09-296, L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
Renfroe
Romer
Spence
Veiga
Williams
Gibbs
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
090428AttachC.pdf
BILL:SB09-296
TIME: 04:10:19 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Moved that Senate Bill 09-296 be referred to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a 4-3-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
No
Renfroe
No
Romer
Yes
Spence
No
Veiga
Yes
Williams
Yes
Gibbs
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS