Vermont Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill Caught Up In Spat Over Seat Belt Provision

Key Vermont lawmakers announced on Wednesday that they are working to finalize a bill to legalize marijuana sales by the end of this month, but disagreements over an unrelated provision dealing with seat belt policy could jeopardize the plan. While advocates felt encouraged that a bicameral conference committee convened to hash out differences between versions of the cannabis legislation passed by the House and Senate, the meeting of the six lawmakers became especially contentious when the discussion turned to seat belts. The House inserted a section in their version of the marijuana bill that would allow police to pull people over for not wearing seat belts—a proposal that’s been a consistent source of controversy in the Vermont legislature. During the bicameral negotiation session, the bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Dick Sears (D), called the provision a “deal killer.” “If the House is going to insist on this provision then we might as well walk away,” he said. Rep. John Gannon (D), who chairs the House Committee on Government Operations, responded that it’s a “critical position for the House” that “goes to our concern about highway safety.” Sen. Joe Benning (R) argued that allowing police to pull people over for failing to wear a seat belt would lead to unnecessary police encounters that are likely to have a racially disparate impact. “A police officer will look for any reason they can to pull over a car. Once you open this door you are going to radically increase the number of stops,” he said.…

Excerpt only …
READ MORE BELOW
Source : MJ moment
Link to original : Vermont Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill Caught Up In Spat Over Seat Belt Provision
reposted by Cannabis News World