(A) The Department of Public Safety shall develop and implement education programs designed to create awareness of the state's safety belt laws and to increase safety belt use in rural and ethnically diverse areas throughout the State. The Department of Public Safety, when securing consultant, contractor, and subcontractor services for developing and implementing programs related to safety belt laws, shall select providers that have experience working with the communities the provider is procured to target. The Department of Public Safety shall confer with members of the targeted communities for input on the development of effective safety education programs and on the identification of providers that have the appropriate experience with the targeted communities.
(B) The Department of Transportation may develop additional programs to promote safety belt use or may coordinate with the Department of Public Safety to fund and carry out the programs jointly. If there is coordination between the two departments, the Department of Public Safety has final authority on all issues including, but not limited to, program content and dissemination, allocation of funds, and procurement procedures.
(C) The Department of Public Safety may use available federal funds or private sector contributions to meet the requirements of subsection (A). The General Assembly may provide funds to supplement federal or private sector funds used by the Department of Public Safety or the Department of Transportation to develop and implement the programs described in subsection (A). The General Assembly shall provide the Department of Public Safety the funds necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (A), if federal or private sector funds are unavailable.
HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 147, Section 6, eff 6 months after approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 9, 2005).