May 29, 2003

[Senate Environment and Public Works Committee]
[Senate Commerce Committee]
[House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee]

As you work towards the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) urges that the Section 157 innovative program for innovative seat belt enforcement efforts be radically changed. In its present form, this program has been extremely difficult for states both programmatically and administratively.

The Section 157 program (23 U.S.C.157) provides safety incentive grants for the use of seat belts. States receive basic 157 grants if they increase their seat belt use rate above the national average or above their base rate.

Section 157(f) authorizes that any remaining funds under the 157 program must be allocated by the Secretary for innovative projects to promote increased seat belt use rates. To be eligible, a state must submit a plan to the Secretary by not later than March 1 of the fiscal year. The Secretary must establish selection criteria and ensure demographic and geographic diversity as well as a diversity of seat belt use rates among the states. Every state must receive an allocation of not less than $100,000. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for administering the 157 innovative program. Each year, NHTSA issues a notice announcing the availability of funds which outlines the criteria the states must satisfy in order to be eligible.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for administering the 157 innovative program. Each year, NHTSA issues a notice announcing the availability of funds which outlines the criteria the states must satisfy in order to be eligible.

The criteria have changed from year to year, and each year the program has become more and more prescriptive. For FY 2003, NHTSA determined that a state must conduct a specific type of high visibility seat belt enforcement program in order to be eligible and specified the following parameters that a state must satisfy:
· How long the enforcement effort must be
· How many enforcement waves must be conducted
· When seat belt use observational surveys must be conducted
· What portion of the funding must be used for paid media
· What type of paid media a state must use
· What messages the paid media must convey, including approval of radio and television ad scripts
· What slogan the high visibility enforcement campaign must use

Potentially eligible states were given a letter outlining the conditions indicated above. States were strongly encouraged to sign the letter, and it was made clear that they would not receive 157 innovative grants unless they complied. Only a handful of states were able to negotiate changes in the letter.

In effect, NHTSA has utilized the 157 innovative program as a vehicle for meeting its national safety belt goals by dictating to the states exactly what they must do with the funding. The Agency has identified a single approach to increasing seat belt use rates and then applied that approach to eligible states in a uniform manner.

GHSA strongly believes that this approach flies in the face of Congressional intent for the 157 innovative program. This heavy-handed approach also ignores the differing needs of states and applies a single solution in a cookie-cutter manner to all states. It is diametrically opposed to the federally-assisted but state-administered approach used in other highway safety and highway programs. Further, we further believe that there is nothing innovative about it.

States appreciate the additional funding that the 157 innovative program has made available for seat belt programs and believe that it has been a key factor in increasing seat belt use. GHSA recommends continuation of this important program but with major modifications. The Association urges that in the next reauthorization, this program should focus on under-performing states with funds allocated on a formula basis for truly innovative state occupant protection programs, including but not limited to high visibility enforcement programs.

Thank you for the opportunity to express our concerns about the 157 innovative program. Barbara Harsha, GHSA's Executive Director, or I would be happy to discuss this further with you or your staff.

Sincerely,

Kathryn R. Swanson
Director, Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety
Chair, Governors Highway Safety Association