Personal freedom concerns won out over those of public safety this year in Montana when the state’s House killed a bill that would have permitted police to pull over drivers for not wearing their seat belts.

Currently, law enforcement officers in the state can issue seat-belt citations to drivers only after stopping a vehicle for another traffic violation.

House lawmakers last month rejected an effort to adopt a stricter version of the seat belt law on a 58-42 vote. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Cooney, D-Helena, previously passed the Senate.

Opponents said stricter laws aren’t needed, citing seat belt usage rates in the state as high as 80 percent, The Associated Press reported. They also raised concerns about government trying to regulate behavior.

Supporters pointed to federal money the state could lose out on if the federal government follows through with an incentive plan for states to scrap their secondary laws.

Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said earlier this year the federal government plans to offer a $17 million, one-time incentive to states that pass a primary seat belt law.

Montana is one of 28 states without the stricter provision. Twenty-one states allow police to pull over drivers solely for not wearing their seat belts. New Hampshire is the only state without a mandatory seat-belt law.