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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Some costs of Idaho’s seat belt law…

Reps. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, and Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, listen to a briefing by legislative analyst Keith Bybee as they ponder how to address funding for state parks and the Idaho State Police if they lose gas taxes. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)
Reps. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, and Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, listen to a briefing by legislative analyst Keith Bybee as they ponder how to address funding for state parks and the Idaho State Police if they lose gas taxes. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)

Idaho also is losing out on $4.5 million in one-time funds available for highway safety because lawmakers have refused to stiffen the state's seat belt law, lawmakers were just informed; another $5 million to $6 million because the state hasn't attained 85 percent seat belt use; another $1 million for not having a primary-offense seat belt law; and $250,000 for not eliminated the nursing-baby exemption from the state's child safety seat law. That money would have come in this year, and would have been for highway safety improvement.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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