Legislative Update

Committee on Criminal Justice
Clerk: Carley Rose Phone: 463-0345
Chair Senator John Whitmire Houston
V.Chair Senator Kel Seliger Amarillo (Senator’s Name)
Members P.O. Box 12068
Senator John Carona Dallas Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Senator Rodney Ellis Houston Fax 512-463-0326
Senator Juan Hinojosa McAllen
Senator Steve Ogden Bryan
Senator Tommy Williams The Woodlands

HB 823 To carry a weapon in your vehicle without a permit has been read in the senate and sent to Criminal Justice. The committee members are listed above along with their home town. The mailing address is the same for all except using their names. The same is true for the Fax number. Address the top to whoever it is for and send it.
To use Email start with their name( first.last@senate.state.tx.us example john.carona@senate.state.tx.us

Contact these men and ask that they bring HB 823 out of committee and to the Floor for a vote of the full senate.

HB 2418 by Rep Dutton to require a written and signed form to allow consent searches is still in committee. The form must also let the person know they have the right to refuse consent. Fortunately the senate has passed out SB 1195, a companion Bill, by senator Hinojosa. The Bill has been received by the House and we shall address that Bill in committee again soon.

HB 254 by Rep Dutton to make one ounce or less of Marijuana a Class C Misdemeanor, punishable only by fine was combined with his Bill HB 2206 and HB 254 has passed out of committee as substituted and been sent to Calendars Committee.

HB 264 by Rep Chavez, our helmet Bill is still in Calendars and we will track down Chairman Woolley on Monday to see if we can persuade her to send it to Intent shortly after Mother’s Day. Many of us will be attending the NCOM Convention in Tennessee next week. Your chairman has been asked to allow his name to be submitted to be on the Board at this meeting. Our finest Warrior who has worked in the bikers rights movement longer than many of you are old is stepping down this year. Bill Carlton and his wife Ruby have been very instrumental in anything that was good for the cause for over thirty years. Thank you Bill and Ruby for a job well done. May your retirement be everything you could hope for.

HB 3277 our HIPAA Correction Bill and HB 514 the Failure To Yield Bill are both still in committee. We believe we got very good response on HB 514 last Tuesday and if time permits we should have a good chance of it going the distance.

We have had a far larger number of riders involved this year than during any other session. It is very comforting to have Reps and Senators say “Yes your people in our district have been calling us about that.” We shall have another update prior to going to NCOM or maybe even from there. Our new secretary, Terri has offered the use of her laptop for the trip. We’ll just see if this dumbass old biker can figure out how to use it.

Just a little story you may enjoy.
After doing the Show last Tuesday night we received a call while the phone was still off. We have to turn it off as people call while we are still on the air. While listening to the voice mail we were stunned to hear "Sputnik, I watch your show all the time and it is great. My name is Jimmy Vaughn and I have a band here in Austin." What an understatement. He said "we are playing a benefit to help fight the Toll roads on Thursday night down at the Double Tree Hotel from 7:30 til. I thought this might be something you would be interested in. There will be a lot of politicians there and you will probably already know them. I would be honored if you could attend as my guest. Give me a call please.

"We called and it was set up. We listened to bands and political talks and received congratulations from hundreds of Austinites for our show and what we do at the capitol. Then it was time for the headliner. Jimmy started singing his first song and then noticed us standing in the audience. He smiled real big, pointed and said "hey Sputnik's here." The audience screamed and clapped. This was one of the most enjoyable events we have attended in many a year. Felt like about 20 years had rolled away especially when Jimmy had Muddy Water come on stage to join him. After the show we went backstage to visit for a while and he said Sputnik I want you to autograph my shirt.
It was an honor extraordinaire to be treated so well by one of the greatest of all time. Thanks to Jimmy and to all you Warriors for making such an event possible. It was unbelievably fine.

We attended the COC Benefit in Houston on Saturday. The location was really good. Everyone associated with the place was very sociable. There weren't as many attendees as there should have been but there was a reporter there to take notes and of course our own Skunk and Jingles were there. We spent the whole day talking to riders and answering questions to clarify law.
The North Houston Bandidos furnished my wife some burritos while we waited for the chili to be cooked and judged. Three prospects from (we won't name the club) were wearing thin plastic helmets with a bill similar to a batting helmet. The helmets were black and one came over and said he had to get Sputnik to autograph his helmet. He had a silver pen to make the writing stand out. We autographed all three while we were standing there. That group of Bros sure know how to punish Prospects seeing as how someone could mistake them for Sputnik with those helmets on and seek retribution for Sputnik's actions.

We gave an update on the mike and then handed applications to those who wanted one. One man caught us before we could leave and handed his finished application to us. Others will follow for sure. The Chili was finally ready and hands down, the North Houston Bandido's offering was the winner. It was made from ground Elk meat with perfect seasonings added. It was a really enjoyable day and we thank the Houston COC for their hospitality. We made some good contacts during the day that will come in mighty handy in the future.

Had to leave early as we had work waiting in the office. We'll be in the capitol come morning and hope to see a few of you Tuesday morning.

Please post as soon as possible!
Received a call from the House Floor by Rep. Joe Moreno. He is a very good
friend who plans to purchase a Harley as soon as the right color is found.

Rep. Moreno was reading our website and wanted to know what was going on with Chairman Dunnam opposing HB 264. He asked for particulars of the Bill andwhy we believed Chairman Dunnam was opposing the Bill. After a full explanation he said he would speak with Chairman Dunnam and get right back with us.

When he called back Rep. Lon Burnam was there and spoke to us. He was very irate and said he had neither planned to oppose HB 264 on the Floor nor had he told anyone he planned to do so. Rep Moreno then told us Chairman Dunnam said he had no opposition to the Bill nor had he stated to anyone that he had plans to speak against HB 264 on the Floor. It appears there has been some miscommunication somewhere in the capitol and we will try to sort it out next week.
In the meantime we have never had any reason to doubt the honesty of either of these men and I therefore apologize to each of them for the information previously posted and ask their forgiveness. We look forward to face to face meetings with both men in an attempt to lay this issue to rest. Thank those of you who responded to our request for action but we ask that no further calls be made to Rep. Burnam or Dunnam and that you accept my apology for the goodfaith request for action.

Please post this update as soon as possible.

SPUTNIK

The throat cutting begins in earnest. We received word that Rep Mark Homer would introduce his mandatory Rider Training Bill as an amendment to HB 264. We worked with them on that Bill as recently as yesterday and were assured that the Bill was dead and we helped word a Bill for next session to do the job they were seeking to accomplish.

One of the governor's staff came down to the House Floor yesterday and said the governor opposes the Bill. It would appear that we were caught up again in Rick Perry's tentacles of dislike.

We decided to go ahead and push for a Senate hearing on HB 1310, the companion Bill and see what happens. Stopped in Wentworth's office to see again if he was going to come around on the Bill. They called the Transportation Committee and told them to give us a hearing but he was voting NO. We had meetings scheduled today with two members of the Transportation Committee and one other senator. All three cancelled the appointments. Had a meeting scheduled for early tomorrow morning with another committee member and they just called and cancelled the meeting while I am writing this.

We happened to meet the governor coming into the capitol with his guards all flanked out around him. We walked thru them and he stopped to shake hands with his usual "how ya doing." We asked why he was opposing HB 264 without even giving us a meeting to lay it out for him. He said we are having a meeting now. We quickly stated our case and he said "I'm not opposing that Bill."
All I can tell you for certain is that this is the most taxing and time consuming session since '93. The Senate Transportation members we know will support this Bill come what may are Shapiro, Barrientos and Shapleigh. We know Wentworth is a No. We need two more votes to come out of committee.

Start calling the other members and ask for their support. Those of you in Houston especially bombard Jon Lindsay and Rodney Ellis. They both cancelled appointments to discus SB 1310. Especially those in San Antonio hit Frank Madla's phone line. In Ft. Worth pound Kim Brimer. Get anyone you know to call everyone on the committee except those three listed above as definite supporters. It wouldn't hurt to call them and say thanks.

We attended the Houston Area COC meeting on Saturday. We were stunned to learn that there were those in attendance that did not know we had gotten handicap license plates for motorcycles. Some had no idea they could legally ride their bikes on the HOV Lanes despite Houston having several miles of the Lanes. We are simply not getting the word out to enough riders. There is a new magazine starting up in Houston next month and they said we could have a full page each month to discuss issues and what we are doing about them Thunder Road has also said to send them a report each month. Between these two and Skunk Dots maybe we can do a better job of publicizing the Association. Ultimately we each must do a better job of recruiting members.

Another very long day today. We met with Rep Hunter to let him know about HB 514 coming to committee next Tuesday. Then we met with all the members of Transportation Committee, except Rep Hill, to ask that they support HB 514 in committee next week. We will catch Rep Hill in the morning. We then met with Rep Isett's staff to finalize our substitute for HB 3277. Never did learn about how we stand in Calendars but we will try to get that worked out tomorrow also.Write or call the members of Transportation and ask them to support HB 514 Thank Chairman Krusee for bring the Bill into committee
The address for all House members is:
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-291

Transportation HB 514
Phillips V. Chair
Callegari
Casteel
Deshotel
Flores
Hill
West
Hamric

Planned to attend the Law Enforcement Committee hearing at 1:30 pm but the House ran way over time on the Floor and we didn't get started until 5:30 pm. While waiting for the hearing to start we met three attorneys who were there to attend the hearing. One was a rider, one had been until he had an accident and is now terrified to get back on a bike. His wife still rides and he will have to start riding again someday. The third was never a rider They were new to the political process and were amazed at how many paid lobbyist were there for the hearing. We talked at length about the process and we will probably get some new members after they check our website. One of them told us he believes that God sends him to places because there is someone there he is to meet. He said he believes this was such a time and he was intended to come to the capitol to meet your chair. Another said he planned to become a teacher when he gives up being an attorney but now he was so fired up he may just change his mind.
Also while waiting for the hearing to begin we were approached by Richard Hardy. For those who don't know Richard he is the long time lobbyist for all five major motorcycle manufacturers and the AMA. Richard realizes I personally don't give a damn what his employers want, he felt correctly, that we might be willing to help those who love the thrill of the ride in off road habitat.
SB 1311 is coming to committee tomorrow to establish all terrain vehicle trails and recreational areas. The riders would pay $8 per year to fund the areas. He said that we wouldn't have to testify but just attend the hearing and sign in showing we support the Bill. He felt our support would enhance the chances of passage. Since our good friend Senator Hinojosa is the Sponsor we will do that much.

The hearing finally started and we were there for HB 2206 and 2214 by Rep Dutton. You are aware that Rep Dutton brought his Bill out of committee to make 1 oz. or less of marijuana a class C misdemeanor punishable only by fine. He then learned that the Feds require the loss of your drivers license if convicted of a drug crime. HB 2206 would allow the court that hears the case to charge the fine, suspend the license and then issue a temporary license to get around the Federal Statue. Three cheers for Rep Dutton. I told you we would have people in office to tell the Federal Government to go to hell. Texans will make the laws for Texas. We proudly supported the Bill.
HB 2418 would put a big crimp in the request for consent searches. Under this Bill every law enforcement officer would have to carry a form to present to a person they routinely ask if they mind if they search them or their vehicle. They could still search with probable cause or a search warrant but otherwise they must hand the person a form that tells them they understand that they have the right to refuse the search. It goes on to say that you realize that by signing the form you give up your right to say no. Of course the cops were there in force saying that would take away an important toll they need to do their job. Reps Veasy, Frost and Hupp along with your chair let them know it was not their job to conduct unwarranted searches. Three cheers for these three Reps and to Rep Dutton for introducing both Bills.

During the hearing Matt from Rep Isett's office let us know he had turned in our substitute for HB 3277 to Chairman Seaman earlier in the day.

We learned that Tony did not receive the Ballot for the May election to put it in the April Warrior. Therefore we will handle the election differently this year. Each district Advisor will send this out to those of you in their districts. All the district Advisors sending this to you have put their name in for reelection except Del in District 28. No one is challenged. Goldie stepped down in District 3 and Kanga has taken her place. If you wish to vote for someone else in your district E mail your choice to secretary@tmra2.org
For those who receive this message from the state chair and from Del in District 28 please send your choice for a district advisor write in candidate to the secretary. Anyone attending the meeting in May who is not on our Email lists will be allowed to vote there prior to the General meeting. Our apologies but this is the best idea we could come up with. The Ballot would not get out in the May issue in time for members to vote.HB 823 to allow for carrying weapons in your vehicle without a permit comes to the House Floor tomorrow.

UPDATE 04/16/05
Slowly moving forward. We had a hearing on HB 3277 Thursday night. The insurance companies were there to hammer us. Rep. Isett laid out the Bill and we gave a history on the 7 year battle for insurance equity. Then the insurance companies wanted us to define risky activities. We let them know that they had been defining risky activities, after the fact, for years. They want to charge us higher premiums if we ride and we said no way. We left the Bill pending and worked on writing a substitute on Friday.
Though it goes against the grain we will narrow it down to cover just us but we will not accept higher premiums, win or lose.
The Advisors have received a copy of the proposed changes that will be finalized on Monday.

On Friday we met with the Calendars Clerk on HB 264. We think there is a good chance of a hearing on that one for Monday or Tuesday of next week. We will keep our fingers crossed.

We also met with Chairman Krusee on HB 514. We got a big surprise to start the meeting off. He brought HB 963 out of committee last session on April 28th, about the time I had surgery. It was Calendars that held up our Failure To Yield Bill last session. We were not informed of this by our sponsor but none the less it is my responsibility to know these things. I apologized to Chairman Krusee and I now apologize to you for not having known this.
He was very cordial and by the end of the meeting we had scored another first for the association. He agreed to bring HB 514 to a hearing despite his not liking the Bill and said he will not lobby against it. Next week's agenda is already posted so Chairman Krusee looked at his calendar and said their next meeting is April 26th. He then said it won't be posted until next week but while you are here I will tell you now you will get your hearing on the 26th. You can't get much more cooperation than that. You now have a real advance notice on the hearing so let's see if you guys can get there. The meetings are generally at 8:00am.
The Chairman even brought up a way to make money for motorcycle awareness or to be used in any way we see fit. We have opted to pass this idea on to B.A.N.D. and have passed the information on to Rebecca.
More on this later.

We will start next week off by testifying in favor of HB 2418. This Bill was introduced by Rep Dutton and says an officer may not make a request for consent to search unless they have probable cause. This Bill offers protection from searches for people who aren't aware they have the right to say no. Hopefully we will be attending a Calendars Committee hearing on HB 264 also. There is no action needed from you on this hearing if we get it. No testimony is taken it simply sets the date for a Floor vote.

We are typing this out at home as we prepare for the Houston COC meeting today. We do not have all the E addresses here but will post it to those who don't have district advisors on Sunday when we get back into the office.

Merrily we roll along. The Insurance Sub Committee on Health will be meeting on Thursday. Rep. Thompson is ready. We have an appointment with Rep. Taylor at 9:30 am tomorrow and with Chairman Seaman at 2:30pm. Hopefully we can get them to send our Bill HB 3277 back to the full committee with recommendation for do pass this week.

We were back in Chairman Krusee's office today to find out if he would let HB 514, the Failure To Yield Bill out of committee if we could show the votes for passage. We have an appointment to meet with him at 9:20am Friday morning. Went from there to Rep. Hunter's office and he will file a formal request for a hearing today. Get ready to start the phone calls, faxes and Emails to the members of the Transportation Committee that we send out for contact when a hearing is scheduled.

We should know around 4:00 pm this evening if HB 264 will be up in Calendars this week. If it is then we can hope for a Floor vote next week.

Walked into a big surprise in Rep. Zedler's office this morning. Was supposed to be there yesterday but they were using the large carpet cleaning machines and high concentrations of ammonia and it took us out. Only made five meetings and was gasping for breath. Staggered to the truck and sat there on oxygen for 15 minutes before driving away. We had let them know we opposed the Bill that said no passengers under 15.
When we got by there this morning to discuss the Bill we were told Arlington Abate had worked out a Bill with them by simply removing the age limit and said they would support that Bill. We explained that we would prefer that they not push for a hearing but if ABATE was working for the Bill we would ask our Warriors and the Texas COC's to lay off of it. The Advisors will discuss this later this evening. The Bill was proposed to Rep. Zedler by a disgruntled ex-wife who didn't like her ex-husband riding their child on his motorcycle. They quoted 270 children killed last year alone. Of course we knew better than that so we checked it out. As usual with stats thrown around at the capitol it wasn't even close. The most recent stats are for 2001 and those totals are 6 killed and 78 injured. Of those who would possibly be covered by the Bill as amended (10 years and under) the numbers were 1 killed and 10 injured. Not even sure about that as most kids can touch the foot pegs by that age. Not much reason to be passing another Bill to restrict our right to raise our children.More on this after the Advisors have their say.

We received word last night from some who have received their April Warrior that the Ballot is not in it. We have no idea what happened. We have sent Tony a message to call the office and find out what happened. Stay tuned for the word on that.

Ride Free - Ride Sober

ACTION ALERT
FEDERAL GANG BILLS

H.R.970
Title: To increase and enhance law enforcement resources committed to investigation and prosecution of violent gangs, to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to reform and facilitate prosecution of juvenile gang members who commit violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs, and for other purposes.
Adam Schiff Sponsor (CA)
Co-Sponsors:
Rep Bono, Mary
Rep Cardoza, Dennis A. [CA-18]
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38]
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2]
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33]
Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4]

S.155
Title: A bill to increase and enhance law enforcement resources committed to investigation and prosecution of violent gangs, to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to reform and facilitate prosecution of juvenile gang members who commit violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs, and for other purposes.

Dianne Feinstein (CA) Sponsor
Co-Sponsors:
Sen Cornyn, John [TX]
Sen Grassley, Chuck [IA]
Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT]
Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ]

And Virginia had a new bill introduced: Sponsor: Forbes, J. Randy (VA - 4)
H.R.1279
Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to reduce violent gang crime and protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, and for other purposes.

Rep Alexander, Rodney[LA-5]
Rep Cantor, Eric [VA-7]
Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1]
Rep Davis, Tom [VA-11]
Rep Drake, Thelma D. [VA-2]
Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [VA-5]
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6]
Rep Wolf, Frank R. [VA-10]
Contact your US Senators and Congressman. Strongly oppose these Bills.

We typed up an update during the wee hours and apparently deleted it instead of saving it. Here we go again with some information added from today.

We finally got a meeting with Chairman Woolley of Calendars and explained why we need HB 264. She said that was reasonable and she would do it. We also learned she had not yet received the Committee Report from Law Enforcement. We went immediately to Law Enforcement and were told they had had a backlog but the Report should get to Calendars today. We called Da'Lady off the Floor and asked her to go ahead and request a hearing in Calendars. It could come as soon as Monday. No action is required from you for this hearing.

We met with Senator Shapiro on our helmet Bill. Asked if she would support our Bill and her response was, "Yes Sputnik I remember the mess they gave us. Of course I will support your Bill". Later we got a face to face with Senator Shapleigh and posed the same question. He raised his hands and said "Sputnik you know I always support anything you want." I explained again that we knew that but we don't take his vote for granted and wanted to hear it from him. He then said simply I'm with you.

Add these two to our list of yes votes in the senate. Both are on the Senate Transportation Committee. Also add Senator Leticia Van De Putte.

While enroute to call Da'Lady from the Floor we shared the elevator with Rep Isett on his way to the Floor. He wanted to know how we were doing with HB 3277, the Insurance Bill. We told him we would be working it seriously next week. It has been sent to sub committee and we are hoping to get some information from them come Monday. We need to get very serious on the Failure To Yield Bill also. We only have one more month to pass these Bills out of the House to get them considered in the Senate. You have all done a wonderful job of working HB 264. Now give all your attention to HB 514 Failure To Yield and HB 3277 the Insurance Bill. We will meet with every member on these two committees again on Monday. You can start sending E mails to all members of the House concerning both Bills (only one Bill for each E-mail please)

Their E-addresses are first name.lastname@house.state.tx.us ie example:norma.chavez@house.state.tx.us E mail all 150 Reps asking them to read and support the Bills.E-mail all the senators at firstname.lastname@senate.state.tx.us and ask them to read and support SB 1310 by Senator Hinojosa.

And a bit of good news, WONDERFUL NEWS. The lawsuit from the TEA Party in Hondo is almost finished and we will not owe anything to them. Attorney Bill Smith from Dallas has put in several months of hard work on getting us clear of this mess. He did not charge us a penny for his services. Remember that, any time you know of a rider injured in an accident. Using his services will help us square ourselves with the fine service he has rendered to the association.If we can get away from the capitol we plan to be in New Summerfield for the LongRider's Run this weekend. Hope to see some of you there.

Today is like a tornado down at the capitol. Or maybe you could say it is like watching a movie that has been put on fast forward. We received a message about 70 riders being stopped by DPS at a Run at Lake Sam Rayburn. The rider who sent the complaint and his passenger both received tickets despite him showing his insurance, The officer told him to let the judge decide whether to push for the fine or not.

We talked to him on the phone while down at the capitol to get all the information so we could contact Chief Beckworth. We had also printed out the complaint and took it to Senator Wentworth's office.

Finally got a face to face meeting with Chairman Woolley of House Calendars Committee and explained the reason for HB 264. She said that seems reasonable and she will bring it up. That alone made the morning worthwhile.

Talked to Chief Beckworth and told him about the hassle in Rayburn. He said he had just sent out another memo Wednesday to stop that but apparently it didn't do the job. He said Sputnik I see we still have trouble and we are going to get it straight just give me a little more time.

While we were talking to him a man from Senate Transportation Committee walked up and stood waiting to talk, He then wrote Helmet Bill on a piece of paper and indicated he wanted to talk about the Bill. Once we hung up we were stunned to hear that they were ready to bring SB 1310 to committee, send it to Local and Consent and on to the Floor. We started scurrying around like a rat trying to contact all the senators. Apparently you have been carrying your share of the load just fine.

These senators are yeses already:
Ken Armbrister - Gonzalo Barrientos -Mario Gallegos
Juan Hinojosa -Mike Jackson -Eddie Lucio
Kel Seliger

If your senator is not on this list get the phones working one more time. We are reasonably sure of Shapiro, Ellis, Shapleigh, Madla and Deuell but call them any way as we haven't managed to get with them yet. We will continue to make every effort to make eye contact with as many as possible this week. Let these senators know we need this Bill passed to stop the illegal tickets. If you get an answer please call my cell immediately.

512-971-6777

Thanks for your efforts.
Sputnik