Seat-belt measure rejected in House
The House on Wednesday killed a measure to allow law enforcement officers to pull over drivers who don’t wear their seat belts.
House Bill 1125 was rejected on a 32-32 vote.
Currently, not wearing a seat belt is a secondary offense, which means motorists cannot be stopped for it. They can be ticketed only if they are pulled over for something else.
Supporters said the bill would save lives. Opponents argued the bill would violate drivers’ civil liberties and lead to racial profiling.
“Let’s propose right now I’m a racist cop. I’m sitting around, my name is Cooter and I can’t wait to just billy club some colored people,” said Rep. Michael Garcia, D-Aurora, before being interrupted by Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who asked that he control his remarks.
Garcia added: “I’ve got plenty of laws right here already on the books if I’m a cop who really has evil intentions in their heart … to pull anyone over.”
Office account drew $350 in penalties
The office account for Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, incurred more than $350 in bank overdraft fees in the past year, according to documents released Wednesday in response to a records request from Democrats.
Wiens had raised more than $20,000 for the account and spent that mostly for constituent mailings and staff salaries.
A Wiens assistant said the bank refunded some of the overdrafts and Wiens put $525 in the account to make sure penalties weren’t paid from contributions.
