SB 706, Equal Access is just waiting for a committee hearing. We are hoping it will come up next Wednesday. The votes are there for passage.
Senator Mike Jackson has agreed to Sponsor the Bill in the Senate.
As HB 727 was nearing the number of votes for a hearing we met with Senator Carona to see if he would Sponsor the Bill in the Senate. WE discussed several options including maybe making not wearing a helmet a secondary offense. He said he would give us an answer in a week.
I left there and talked to Daniel in Rep. Hopson’s office about maybe offering a substitute for 727 making it a secondary offense to not wear a helmet. He said that would be no problem.
Last night I got a call from Carona's Chief-of-Staff saying the Senator had introduced his own Bill. She said it requires both Rider Training and $150,000 in medical insurance. The fine for not wearing a helmet would increase to a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $1500. She said he will set up a meeting with me and a Trauma Specialist to see if we can work out a compromise on the BIll. No mention of any law enforcement officers at the meeting.
I don’t know how serious he is with his Bill but I know we can’t pass HB
727 in the Senate without his support as he is Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. At the same time I don’t believe he can pass his Bill in the House.
I recommend that everyone call his office and let him know you are very concerned with his SB 1368, especially those living in Dallas. Be courteous, those you will speak with had nothing to do with him filing this Bill. 512-463-0116
There was a flurry of bad Senate Bills introduced on the last day for filing as always. They save those for last hoping no one will notice. Log on
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us and read a few of them for yourself. Especially SB 1260 by Seliger - SB 1268 by Nichols and SB 1291 by Nelson.
Sputnik
