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Article published Mar 4, 2005
Seat-belt bill hits snag in House
COLUMBIA -- The
state House on Thursday debuted its version of "Kill Bill Volume 2," when it
sent a bill that would allow law enforcement officers to stop adult drivers who
were not wearing their seat belts back to committee.The House approved the bill
last session and sent it to the Senate, where it died under the weight of a
filibuster led by President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.The Senate
struck first this year, passing the bill in early February and sending it to the
House."We passed it out first last year knowing they would kill it," said Rep.
Ralph Davenport, R-Boiling Springs. "Now they've reversed the tables on us."Sen.
Glenn Reese, R-Boiling Springs, said the role reversal was all part of the dance
in the Legislature."The House and Senate play the one-upmanship game all the
time," he said. "It's nothing new."The bill might not be dead yet, but it's now
on life support in the Education and Public Works Committee.Under the proposal,
drivers who were ticketed for not buckling up would face a $25 fine. Violations
would not be reported to insurance companies or on driver records, and could not
be considered by juries in civil cases.Supporters say the measure would save
lives and would make the state eligible for federal highway funds.Opponents,
however, said the current law, which allows drivers to be ticketed for failing
to wear a seat belt only if they are stopped for another violation, is strong
enough."There are a large number of people who have problems with this
legislation," said Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, the House majority leader.
"Last year, Senator McConnell and the Senate made it clear that they would kill
the bill. This year, everyone looked at the issue closely and saw that it was
flawed."Before deciding by voice vote to send the bill back to committee,
opponents offered several amendments aimed at killing the measure. The most
creative came from Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, who proposed
requiring automobiles sold after 2008 to be equipped with a device that would
limit their top speed to 15 miles per hour if the driver and all passengers were
not buckled up."If we're going to force everybody to wear seat belts, let's
really force them to wear seat belts," Scarborough said.Rep. Mike Anthony,
D-Union, did his own flip-flop on the bill. He voted against it last session,
but said he would vote for it this time around."I made a mistake last time," he
said. "Why shouldn't we try to save lives? Having been a driver's education
teacher for 16 years, I'd be talking out of both sides of my mouth if I didn't
support wearing seat belts."Rep. Ronnie Townsend, R-Anderson, chairman of the
Education and Public Works Committee, said the committee would refine the bill
based on the concerns raised during the debate and then send it back to the
floor.Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, who helped shepherd the bill through the
Senate, said he hopes that's the case."The people of South Carolina have spoken
very favorably for primary enforcement," Ritchie said. "I'm hopeful that the
House leadership will prevail on its membership to send this bill to the
governor."Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, was Rep. Joel Lourie two years ago when
the House approved the bill. He said Thursday's action was a setback, not a
death sentence."I know there are a lot of strong advocates who want to save a
minimum 100 lives (a year), prevent thousands of critical injuries and save
millions of dollars in health care and other related costs," Lourie
said."There's a long way to go, and hopefully we'll get another shot."Robert W.
Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.