WASHINGTON — Seventeen states, including Hawai'i, and three U.S. territories in the Pacific will share more than $109 million in federal grants to enforce seat-belt laws and promote highway safety, the government said yesterday.

Hawai'i will receive about $1 million, while American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will each receive $503,477.

The funding is part of a program established in 2005 to encourage states to approve stronger seat-belt laws that allow police to stop motorists solely for failing to wear seat belts.

The laws, called primary enforcement safety-belt laws, have been passed in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

"Where these laws are in place, they work. When more people buckle up, fewer lives are lost," said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

The remaining states have secondary enforcement, which allows tickets for seat-belt violations only if motorists are stopped for another offense. New Hampshire has no seat-belt law for adults.

California received the largest grant, $19.3 million, followed by Indiana, $15.7 million. The District of Columbia also received grants.