Georgia Legislative Watch

A subcommittee from the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a hearing today on SB 5, legislation that will require the use of seat belts in pickup trucks:

The Georgia Senate has for years voted to adopt changes to require adults in pickup trucks to buckle their seat belts, but each year the measure has hit a roadblock in the House.

Yet on Tuesday a House subcommittee is set to consider the measure – the first time in at least three years a House panel weighs the issue. Georgia is the only state in the nation that exempts adults in pickups from wearing seat belts. The stance has cost the state millions of dollars in federal highway funds.

The Senate approved the latest version of the seat belt measure in February. House lawmakers, worried it could negatively affect rural residents, have made sure the changes are killed each year.

SB 5 would head to the full committee for a vote if passed today.