Lenexa ? Some Kansas cities are charging heftier fines for failing to buckle up than the $5 the Legislature intended when it passed a new seat belt law.

The new law allows officers to stop vehicles solely for seat belt violations by the occupants. Previously, seat belt scofflaws could be cited only if they were stopped for some other offense, such as speeding.

In passing the law, the Legislature reduced the fine for adult drivers from $30 to $5 until mid-2011, when it increases to $10. And that includes court costs.

But The Kansas City Star reported Saturday that a number of cities, including Kansas City, Kan., Olathe and Wichita, are keeping the $30 fine they already had on the books under the old law. And in the case of Lenexa, failing to buckle up costs $60 — a $30 fine plus $30 in court costs.

The higher fines are possible because cities can impose laws more restrictive than those approved by the Legislature unless otherwise prohibited.

Traffic safety experts had been disappointed that the state fine wasn’t larger and think the bigger penalties some cities are charging are a step in the right direction. At $5, the Kansas penalty is the lowest seat belt fine in the nation, according to data compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

But some law violators and lawmakers dislike the larger fines.

“It’s like having a law and charging what you want,” said Phil Widener, who was recently stopped by a Lenexa motorcycle police officer a couple of blocks from home for not wearing a seat belt.

Rep. Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican, said he believed that the bill might have had a tougher time passing if lawmakers thought cities were going to collect bigger fines.

“As the bill was being sold in the Legislature, supporters were saying this is not about trying to raise revenue for anybody,” said Kinzer, who opposed the legislation because he thought it treaded on personal liberty. “It may be that some legislators who voted for the bill based upon that understanding would be surprised to find that cities were actually free to impose a higher fine.”

Sue Dickey, Olathe city prosecutor, said there was lots of discussion before the city made the decision to stick with the $30 fine, including court costs. She said a $5 fine hardly covers the expense of writing and processing the ticket.

“The whole reason for a seat belt law is to make sure people get buckled up,” she said. I think people could pay a lot of $5 tickets without it being a real serious matter to them.”