(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- A bill that would require seat belts in pickup trucks makes it out of committee.

The Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee passed Senate Bill 86 on a vote of 9-2.

The measure would mean a one time grant of nearly $21 million by the federal government, some of which must be used on a public awareness campaign.

"To me that is not the real issue... the real issue is the hundreds of lives and the thousands of very serious injures that this bill will save," says bill sponsor Senator Don Thomas (R-Dalton) who is also a physician.

But at least two Republicans opposed the measure. Senator Bill Heath (R-Bremen) says he couldn't put safety over liberty.

"What bothers me about this legislation is the rampant growth of government... the medaling of government in our personal lives," he says.

Over the years, many similar bills have been proposed, but all failed to pass. Former House Speaker Tom Murphy, Heath's predecessor, was always a strong opponent of the effort.