Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune
It’s not your fault. It’s because voters won’t be offered a real chance to change most of the people in the Legislature and the Texas seats in Congress next year. Four out of five state and federal legislators won’t suffer any real competition next year in their primary or general elections.
Their districts are secure because their maps are secure. Only one state senator got knocked off in last year’s elections. Four fresh faces were among the 31 senators in 2007. In 2005, it was zero. More than two-thirds of the senators now in office were in office at the start of the decade. Congressional seats might be even safer; only three newbies from Texas have joined that body in the last two elections. Not three each year — three, total.
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A new bill authored by Rep. Allen Vaught (D) would require children under the 8-years-old or 4’9” to be seated in a booster seat while in a car. The bill, HB 62, would come as a change to the previous law that only required children to have alternative seating until they were 36”.
Proponents of the bill argued that many children reach the previous height limit the time they were 3-years-old. Since seat belts are designed for the average adult, the belt may hit dangerous points on a child’s body. Without a booster seat or car seat, a person under 4’9” not properly restrained may injure his or her neck, spine or major internal organs if in a wreck. They also run the risk of being strangled by an improperly placed belt.
The fine for being ticketed with improper child restraint would be $25, a substantial change from the previous $200 maximum fine. Critics argue that the bill would be difficult to enforce with people traveling from states that do not have congruent booster seat laws. The bill also fails to recognize the significant portion of Texas drivers who cannot afford pricey restraint systems. Others argue that the law would be unfair to short people. Some children will not meet the minimum height requirement until they are 13 or 14-years-old, while others may never meet the height requirement.
The booster seat bill has been approved in the House and Senate. After the discrepancies between the versions are fixed, the bill will be on its way to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk for his approval.
