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Representative Richard Glorioso (R-D62), whose district includes Valrico, will again this year co-sponsor HB 11-Safety Belt Law Enforcement in hopes of creating the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law. The bill deletes a requirement for enforcement of Florida Safety Belt Law as a secondary action and replaces it as a nonmoving violation, punishable by law. If passed by the Florida Senate, the bill would become effective June 30. The 60-day legislative session began on March 4."Seat belts saved my life when I was younger," said Glorioso, who was the featured speaker at the second Annual Seat Belt Awareness Night hosted by The Lightning Foundation. "Seventy-five percent of people killed on Florida's highways were not wearing seatbelts," says Glorioso, who further states that the bill, if passed, is estimated to save 200 lives per year, eliminate 2,700 serous injuries, save $600 million in economic costs and reduce Medicaid dollars by $12 million. A fundraising event was held in February at a St. Pete Times Forum hockey game to honor the Katie Marchetti Memorial Foundation. The Marchetti family lost their only daughter, Katie, at age 16 on March 4, 2006, from not wearing a seat belt. Glorioso said that he believes he has the support in the Florida House of Representatives to move HB 11 to the Senate floor but needs the support of the Senate to get it passed. "The Marchetti Family lives in my district. They are one of my constituents. I will work on passage of this bill [if needed] for the next five years I am in office [if elected]."Colonel Greg Brown, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, attended the event representing Sheriff David Gee who had previous commitments. "We've been working with Rep. Glorioso for a while on the seat belt issue," he said. "We see preventable deaths all the time where people have died because they were not wearing their seat belts." Notables at the fundraising event include Hillsborough County Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, County Commission Brian Blair (D6-Countywide), County Commissioner Jim Norman (D5-Countywide), and Chairman and School Board Member (D-4) Jennifer Faliero. For more information, contact Legislative Aide to Glorioso Cori Cuttler at 757-9110 or the Marchetti's at 681-4291.
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