Wednesday we went to the office of each member of the Transportation Committee and asked them to bring up copies of HB 514 to allow their Reps to read the Bill and get ready to discuss it with us this week. Did the same with staff of the Insurance committee and asked them to pull up HB 3277 for their Reps to read.
Had several things to tell you today but today is already yesterday as happens a lot lately so here is where we stand as of yesterday (Tuesday).
As you know HB 264 is out of committee and ready to go to Calendars Committee. Da'Lady and I did a little more in depth study of the committee and we have enough votes to pass out of Calendars. We shall meet with Chairwoman Woolley in the morning and ask if she will move our Bill within the next two weeks. If the Bill comes out of Calendars we have enough votes for passage on then House Floor.
There has been no movement yet on HB 514 or HB 3277. We are keeping an eye on the Road Block Bills and will yell when they are posted for committee.
HB 823 was heard yesterday and will be passed out. This Bill allows you to carry a handgun in your vehicle without a license.
Yesterday while waiting for the Hiouse Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting we crossed over to the Senate side for a time. Every office received a visit as we asked them to pull up SB 1310, companion Bill to HB 264. They were informed we would be in to discuss that Bill as soon as HB 264 clears Calendars.
Again we went to Senator Wentworth's office and spoke with Joe. Told him about 4 more illegal tickets issued by DPS Troopers this past week. WE asked what it was going to take to get him to listen and Joe said he didn't know. We told him to find out and tell us and we would get it for him. Of course if every rider who has gotten an illegal helmet ticket or otherwise been hassled because of the helmet law had writtren him a letter it wouldn't be necessary for me to keep going back. If have worked several hundred of these damned tickets and gotten them thrown out and according to Joe they have not received ONE LETTER from anyone getting tickets. We will go hunting fiorv Wentworth this afternoon but if you can't even get off your collective asses and call his office with your stories we are not going to get the helmet Bill out of committee in the senate as Wentworth is on that committee. That will mean we have wasted about 400 meetings on this Bill for nothing and I don't like wasting time.
Phone number for Wentworth : 512-463-0125 If you want this Bill passed let him know NOW! If not then let me know.
LAWSUITS - THE GOOD
We have finally found some riders with enough Balls to file a lawsuit for Illegal helmet tickets rather than just sitting on a barstool and bitching about it. The tickets came from DPS. I contacted an attorney and talked to one of the guys today. I asked if he was certain he was going through with it and he said yes. I then asked permission to contact Chief Beckworth and ask him to pull the tape of the stop. He said yes, do whatever I needed to do. Called the Chief and he wasn't in the office. He called back while wwe were in a committee hearing but we spoke to him briefly. Explained that we had received more complaints of illegal tickets from his troopers. He said "Sputnik we are going to work with you on this. I will send out another memo and keep doing it until we get it right. We then asked if he would pull the tapes of the stop and review them. He replied "Sputnik you know I will do it, I have done it before." We then told him we were probably filing lawsuits this time and he said he could understand that. We will meet with him later this morning and get things moving. It really brightened my day to learn that after Gary received the first illegal ticket at 8:00am on the day the law took effect and Music filed and won, his suit in Bridgeport someone else is finally going to stand up.
AND THE BAD
Talked to AIM Attorney Bill Smith yesterday and he let us know that the lawsuit for the incident at the TEA Party in Hondois coming to trial next week Your chairman will be in Houstion starting Monday until this trial is over. That means it will be up to the rest of you to keep in contact with your senator and representative on these Bills until this trial ends.Got to grab a nap. Was on the computer until 4:30am Tuesday morning, took a bath, shaved and headed for the capitol at 5:40am. Spent over 15 hours there Wednesday and am back on the computer now.
It is after 2:00am meaning I have less than three hours to nap, bath, shave and head back to the Hill.
Goodnight.
