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| House Approves Local Lawmaker's Emergency Response Funding Bill |
One hurdle cleared and two more to go before a local lawmaker's bill that adds an additional fine for a person convicted of two types of major traffic offenses that cause an accident. becomes law.
The Illinois House recently approved legislation sponsored by State Representative Don Moffitt that moves on to the Senate for consideration, and if it clears that chamber, goes to the governor for his signature. The Gilson Republican, while on the House floor, called the bill an opportunity to reimburse local emergency agencies.
Moffitt says the measure covers two types of serious violations.
"Reckless driving and speeding 40-miles over the speed limit," Moffitt said. "There's been a lot of press about that excessive speeding. There have been several recent articles in the Chicago Tribune. A lot of them are repeat offenders. We had a bill earlier...to take away court supervision."
The court in those cases would be able to assess an additional $100 fine per public agency for each emergency response provided for a first offense and up to $500 for subsequent violations.
Moffitt says emergency response units are primarily funded by taxpayer money. The legislation he's proposed aims to alleviate the burden on taxpayer-funded emergency responses when the accident is the result of an individual making a conscious effort to drive recklessly or speed in excess of 40 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
Moffitt says the funds from the fines would probably be the only new revenue that the legislature will make available to emergency responders this year. |
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| 04 08 10 by Newsroom |
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