Bill Summary:

• AN ACT Relating to improving traffic safety by addressing  compliance, enforcement, and data collection

What the Bill says:

•  The department of commerce shall develop and implement a grant program to support local initiatives that provide solution oriented responses to nonmoving violations for low-income road users.  The department of commerce must prioritize the award of grants to local initiatives that expand or establish civilian intervention  programs for nonmoving violations, and focus on nonpunitive  interventions such as helmet voucher programs, fee offset programs,  fix-it tickets, and repair vouchers that provide solutions for  vehicle equipment failures for low-income road users.

Our Summary Opinion:

• It says that a peace officer may not detain a person or search a vehicle if they were not initially pulled over for an offence which could be a severe traffic safety offence. So if a driver has his lights off the peace officer may pull the driver over and request they turn their lights on but they cannot search the vehicle without written permission of the driver if they believe the driver is impaired which may be the very reason that the driver did not have their lights on after dark! It claims that “equity” status of minority persons are disproportionately impacted by police traffic stops. With that influence it claims to be protecting the traffic Safety?!!