Minnesota Session Laws - 1992, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1992 

                       RESOLUTION 10-S.F.No. 1778 
 A resolution memorializing Congress to refrain from 
imposing upon the states' constitutional authority to 
regulate traffic and motor vehicle safety within their 
respective boundaries, and specifically, to refrain 
from mandating the passage of state laws requiring the 
use of motorcycle helmets, safety belts, and child 
restraint systems. 
    WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, part 
of the original Bill of Rights, reads as follows, "The powers 
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states 
respectively, or to the people"; and 
    WHEREAS, the limits on Congress' authority to regulate 
state activities prescribed by the Tenth Amendment have 
gradually been eroded and federal mandates to the states in 
these protected areas have become almost commonplace; and 
    WHEREAS, the regulation of traffic and motor vehicle safety 
laws are constitutionally the province of state, not 
congressional, authority; and 
    WHEREAS, a recently proposed federal mandate would reduce 
the apportionment of federal highway funds to states which do 
not enact statutes requiring the use of helmets by motorcyclists 
and the use of safety belts and child restraint systems by 
drivers and front seat passengers in automobiles by July 1, 
1992; and 
    WHEREAS, while the stated goals of this federal mandate, to 
reduce highway fatalities and injuries through increased use of 
motorcycle helmets and safety belts, are certainly praiseworthy, 
it is the opinion of this body that the passage of such 
legislation by the U.S. Congress would be a blatant 
transgression upon the state's regulatory authority under the 
Tenth Amendment; NOW, THEREFORE, 
    BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
that it urges the Congress to refrain from imposing upon the 
states' constitutional authority to regulate traffic and motor 
vehicle safety within their respective boundaries, and 
specifically, to refrain from mandating the passage of state 
laws requiring the use of motorcycle helmets, safety belts, and 
child restraint systems. 
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
State of Minnesota is directed to prepare certified copies of 
this memorial and transmit them to the President and Secretary 
of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Chief Clerk of the 
United States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators 
and Representatives in Congress. 
    Presented to the governor April 17, 1992 
    Signed by the governor April 24, 1992, 4:16 p.m.