Legislation has been introduced in the California legislature that seeks to impose a $3 fine onto every ticket that is issued in California for reckless driving. Assembly Bill 190, as the legislation has been titled, seeks to reestablish the goal of another California law that funded spinal cord paralysis research. That law was referred to as “Roman’s Law.”
Roman’s Law was named after the college football player who was involved in an accident while playing college football in 1994, in which he was paralyzed, discovered a person close to the scene. His father, Don C. Reed, worked hard to establish the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and was a citizen-sponsor for the Roman’s Law legislation. The laws official name was the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, Assembly Bill 750.
Roman’s Law was one of the few pieces of legislation that has passed the legislature that almost everyone, republican and democrat alike actually agreed on and supported. Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was also a supporter of the bill. The research the bill has been attributed with include stem cell, the Geron trials, the use of an “Avatar” helmet where the wearer can move a computer cursor across a computer screen by using their thoughts, and many others.
Unfortunately, the hard economic times forced the California legislature to drop the funding for Roman’s Law. This was not an easy decision, as the affects of the law were all deemed positive and the resulting inflow of both cash and academic resources was a boon to parts of the California economy. The program was a real success at the time. Even as lawmakers were defunding the program, supporters were told privately not to give up and to find a way to keep it funded.
Supporters of the program believe they may have found a way to keep the program funded and the research ongoing. It seems they may have taken notice of what a few states have already established, that is to fund the spinal cord injury research program by adding a fee onto traffic citations. Seven states are already using this approach to fund this type of research and the supporters of this bill seek to bring the total to eight states. They surmise that fines are levied to traffic violators in order to pay for the negative effects of their deeds. Suffolk and Nassau counties are considering these steps.
Has your life been forever changed by a spinal cord injury that was the result of someone else’s negligence? Spinal cord injuries are among the most traumatic injuries suffered in our society, and a New York Spinal Injury Attorney has the skills to get you the settlement that you need to maintain the best quality of life possible.