scatterbunny
New member
Woohoo! Yesterday Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the new child restraint law, making it mandatory for kids to ride in boosters to age 8 or 4'9" (sucks that it's "or"), and making it mandatory for babies under age 1yr/20# to ride rear-facing.
Mark's co-workers were already complaining about it yesterday. "This is going to affect even small ADULTS who will have to be in a carseat now!" "It means my big 8yo still needs to be in a CARSEAT!" "No, no, they mean CARSEAT, not BOOSTER SEAT!"
Lots of fuss, no understanding.
But you can BET I'll be printing this out for everyone I know, hoping THIS will be the impetus for them to finally protect their kids. Sad that a law has to force that to happen.
Oh, and I love the governor's quote that I bolded and italicized.
Mark's co-workers were already complaining about it yesterday. "This is going to affect even small ADULTS who will have to be in a carseat now!" "It means my big 8yo still needs to be in a CARSEAT!" "No, no, they mean CARSEAT, not BOOSTER SEAT!"
Lots of fuss, no understanding.
But you can BET I'll be printing this out for everyone I know, hoping THIS will be the impetus for them to finally protect their kids. Sad that a law has to force that to happen.
Oh, and I love the governor's quote that I bolded and italicized.
Governor signs smoking-ban, child-safety-seat measures
Smoking bill takes effect in 2009, safety bill in July
PETER WONG
Statesman Journal
June 27, 2007
Two bills that Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed Tuesday will directly affect the daily lives of most Oregonians.
Senate Bill 571, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2009, extends the state's indoor-smoking ban to restaurants, bars, taverns, bingo parlors and bowling alleys. Nearly all of these places were exempted from a ban enacted in 2001.
Senate Bill 480, which takes effect July 1, imposes stricter safety regulations for infants and children riding in cars.
"Most things the Legislature does are transactional, but there are some things that end up being transformational," Kulongoski said.
Oregon joins 21 other states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, that have banned smoking in restaurants and bars. Restaurants and bars have time to build outdoor smoking areas if they are more than 10 feet from the nearest doorway.
Supporters said the extended ban on smoking will prevent diseases in more than 35,000 people who work in places where smoking is still allowed.
"If second-hand smoke were any other pollutant, it would have been banned years ago," said Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that advanced the bill.
Rep. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, said her teenage daughter told her the bill will have an effect on generations to come.
"If I have impressed my children, I feel I have done a good job," said Tomei, chairwoman of the House Human Services and Women's Wellness Committee.
Only smoke shops and cigar bars are exempt from the indoor-smoking ban.
The other bill was sponsored by Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, and others.
"Child-safety legislation seems to be so easy to do, but it always runs into interesting hurdles in the legislative process," Devlin said.
Children who weigh more than 40 pounds must use booster seats until they reach age 8 or a height of 4 feet, 9 inches. Current law frees them from use of booster seats once they reach age 6 or 60 pounds.
Booster seats help adult lap belts and shoulder belts fit snugly on children.
The new law also requires parents to strap infants younger than 1 year of age and weighing less than 20 pounds into rear-facing child-safety seats. Current law does not require rear-facing seats.
The bill was introduced at the behest of the Safe Kids Committee.
"They are safety professionals doing a great job," said Jeff Merrick, a Lake Oswego lawyer who is assisting the group, and who attended the bill-signing. "They have a lot more ideas I hope you will see in the next Legislature."
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070627/LEGISLATURE/706270440/1042