Final
BILL SUMMARY for
HB05-1138
HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY
Votes:
Action Taken:
Moved to refer HB 05-1138, unamended, to the Commi
PASS
04:01 PM -- House Bill 05-1138
Represented Coleman, prime sponsor, explained House Bill 05-1138 which makes it a primary offense for a driver to operate a motor vehicle, punishable as a class B traffic infraction, without wearing a fastened safety belt. The wearing of a safety belt includes certain children and all front-seat passengers. She responded to committee questions.
The following people testified:
04:11 PM --
Paul Branham, representing the Colorado Seatbelt Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Branham provided a set of resolutions from various local governments urging the Colorado State Legislature to adopt a state-wide legislation to make seat belt violations a primary traffic offense (
Attachment F
). He responded to committee questions.
04:11 PM
-- Representative Larson and Representative Cadman discussed the probability of enforcing this law. Committee discussion continued. Mr. Branham responded to the committee's comments.
04:35 PM --
Terry Campbell, representing the Colorado State Patrol, spoke in support of this bill. He discussed the practical application of this legislation and the results experienced by other states once similar primary safety-belt legislation was enacted. He noted that in states with primary safety-belt laws, compliance rates have increased, resulting in the saving of lives and property. He indicated that the average rate of compliance for secondary safety-belt laws was 75 percent. For state with primary safety-belt legislation, the compliance rate is approximately 83 percent.
04:42 PM --
Denny O'Malley, President, Craig Hospital, representing the hospital, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that the hospital very much believes that this bill will reduce injuries and fatalities. He provided statistics related to this bill, and said that this legislation will most likely reduce medical costs.
04:51 PM --
Joy Keyser Pickar, representing State Farm Insurance, spoke in support of the bill. She focused her testimony on auto insurance, indicating that State Farm Insurance insures approximately one out of four cars on the highways. She responded to committee questions.
05:01 PM --
Jim Savage, representing Children's Hospital and Denver Metro Safe Community Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. He responded to a question that Representative Cadman proposed.
05:06 PM --
Wes Reiber, representing the Douglas County Coroner and the Colorado Coroner's Association, spoke in support of the bill.
05:08 PM --
Leo Jodoin, representing Drive Smart Weld County, spoke in support of the bill. He lost his son in an auto accident. He said that a traffic fatality impacts not just the victim, but has a much broader impact on family and friends. Members of the committee expressed their sympathies for his loss.
BILL:
HB05-1138
TIME:
05:15:09 PM
MOVED:
Larson
MOTION:
Moved to refer HB 05-1138, unamended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7-4 vote.
SECONDED:
Borodkin
VOTE
Borodkin
Yes
Cadman
No
Green
Yes
Hefley
No
Knoedler
No
Larson
Yes
Lindstrom
Yes
Ragsdale
Yes
Welker
No
McFadyen
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Final
YES:
7
NO:
4
EXC:
0
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
PASS