House gets booster seat bill

Kentucky.com

March 26, 2008

A bill that would require booster seats for small children in vehicles seems likely to become law in coming days, although it would be weaker than some safety advocates prefer.

Senate Bill 120 was approved by the House Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday during a break in action on the House floor. The full House is expected to vote on the measure later this week.

House Health and Welfare Chairman Tom Burch, D-Louisville, called it 'a watered-down, weak booster seat bill,' but he added that his own, more stringent House Bill 55 has been stuck in the Senate for weeks.

'It's (the Senate bill) or nothing,' Burch said. 'But I think it's a stupid bill, and you can quote me. With this one, the Senate can say it passed a booster seat bill without actually doing anything. This bill basically says, 'Oh, please, please, please put your child in a booster seat.''

The Senate bill would apply to children younger than 7 who are between 40 and 50 inches tall. Burch's House bill, versions of which repeatedly have passed the Democratic House in recent years, would apply to children younger than 8 who are between 40 and 57 inches tall.

Children shorter than 40 inches are already required to be in a child-restraint seat.

The Senate bill's sponsor, Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, has called it the toughest measure he can get through the Republican Senate, and he warned House members not to amend it. So far, they have not.

Under the bill, police would issue warnings to violators for a year, then issue citations and a $20 fine. However, citations and fines later could be dismissed if parents proved they own a booster seat.

Kentucky currently is one of 11 states that doesn't mandate the use of booster seats.

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