A proposal in the Minnesota House would permit police to pull over drivers who are not buckled up.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, would create a primary law for seat-belt enforcement. Currently, police can ticket drivers in the state for seat-belt violations only after stopping a vehicle for another traffic violation.

Violators would be fined $50 – up from the current $25 fine.

If signed into law, it would put Minnesota in line for additional federal money.

The Bush administration recently proposed an incentive program to encourage states to increase seat-belt enforcement. The program would provide grants worth $100 million a year for highway safety or construction programs to states that pass a primary seat-belt law or show a seat-belt usage rate of at least 90 percent.

Failure to do one or the other would result in a loss of up to 4 percent of federal highway funds to the state.

Minnesota is one of about 30 states without a primary seat-belt law.

The bill, HF1663, has been forwarded to the House Committee on Transportation Policy.