Seat-belt bill may be amended

A committee vote on a controversial seat-belt bill was delayed Tuesday after a surprise move to amend the measure.

In its original form, SB98 would make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense — meaning an officer could ticket a motorist solely for not buckling up. During Tuesday's meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, proposed that insurance companies instead require people to wear a seat belt as a condition of their coverage.

That requirement puts the "onus" on insurance companies instead of the Legislature, said Bramble. Among other reasons, lawmakers have had difficulty passing the bill in past sessions because of the "mandate" it places on the public.

"It's been here many times, and the House has no appetite," said Bramble, hinting the intent of his amendment was to kill the bill.

The committee didn't vote on either the bill or Bramble's amendment.

Sponsoring Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake City, said she requested the committee delay action on the bill because she felt she didn't have enough votes to move it out of committee after Bramble's amendment. This is the fourth year she's run the bill, and Hale still maintains that it could make a difference in the number of lives lost on the road.

Last year, 282 people were killed on Utah roadways. Of those people, about 208 were "improperly restrained," according to state fatality statistics.

"For some people, maybe it's enforcement that's going to get to them," she said.

Chris Purcell, in-house council for State Farm Insurance, said Bramble's amendment has the potential to put a burden on taxpayers if insurance companies deny coverage as a result of not wearing a seat belt.

"If we don't pay and they don't have insurance, who is going to pay the bills?" he asked. "You don't turn people away in the emergency room. You have to help them."

Purcell also said that Hale's measure would be easier to enforce. The Utah Truckers Association, two doctors, a mother who had lost a son who wasn't buckled up in an accident and the Utah Highway Patrol all spoke in favor of Hale's bill Tuesday.

Hale said she would meet with Bramble to discuss his amendment. She doesn't know when it will reappear before a committee.

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