Rainbow Injury Prevention Center

Information about HB 320

Next to voting, the most important way citizens can participate in government is to communicate their wishes to legislators.  The booster seat bill (HB 320) will come before the Ohio Senate for a vote during the week of December 15-19.  Let your senator know you support this bill by sending a quick e-mail in three easy steps:

• Follow this link and enter your zip code to find your state senator:  http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/
• Click on your senator’s name to get to their web page
• Click on their e-mail address to send a message in support of HB 320. 

You can copy and paste any of the samples below (personalizing with your senator’s name and your own, of course), use any of the samples as a jumping off point to craft your own message, or skip the samples and do your own thing.  The most important things to remember in communicating with your legislator are be brief, be direct, be respectful, and be clear about what you want the senator to do.

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SAMPLE 1

Dear Senator [name]:

I am writing to urge you to support HB 320 when it comes before the senate for a vote.  Booster seats help to protect children who are too big for car seats but too small for seat belts alone.  All parents want to protect their children and parents look to the law for guidance on how best to keep children safe in motor vehicles—unfortunately, Ohio law is failing children and families.  With your help, Ohio can join the 43 states and District of Columbia that have already taken this important step in keeping kids safe on our roadways.

Sincerely,

[your name]

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SAMPLE 2

Dear Senator [name]:

As a constituent of your district, I am writing to urge you to vote for HB 320 when it comes before the senate for a vote.  I support this booster seat bill and believe it will be a big step forward for our state in keeping kids safe in motor vehicles.

Sincerely,

[your name]

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SAMPLE 3

Dear Senator [name]:

As a constituent of your district, I am asking you to vote in favor of HB 320 when it comes before the senate for a vote.  I urge you to view this booster seat bill as a child safety issue, and not as a personal rights issue.  Taking simple, easy, cost-effective, and empirically proven steps to protect children from injury or death in motor vehicle crashes is in the best interest of children, families, communities, and our state.

Sincerely,

[your name]