Legislative Update

Run, run as fast as you can and you still won’t keep up. We have been expending what time I’ve had available from my bouts with doctors since Legislative Day working to get our Rider Training Fund back from the General Fund. The way it is now the DPS gets 25% off the top of our budget each year. This costs us over $200,000 per year.
This year they are proposing to cut our Budget by $200,000 and by the time DPS takes their cut off the top it will only leave us a little over $540,000 which won’t come close to meeting our needs. We really need about $1,200,000 to cover our anticipated cost to operate properly. The House still hasn’t even appointed Committee Members yet so we have about another week to work exclusively on this issue.

We met with Senator Carona’s group today to discuss his plans for a helmet law to be introduced again this session. It was the same group from last session but with Paul representing the COC and the Defenders, Casey Bolt said he was representing himself and Doc was there. Jerry Rose and I were representing TMRA 2. Introductions took place and then we got down to it.
Basically they still wanted the $150,000 insurance and asked what we wanted from the meeting. We of course said we wanted our money back out of the general Fund and have it rededicated and come up with a comprehensive Motorist Awareness Program. We bounced ideas back and forth and Mr. Polunsky, Senator Carona’s Chief of Staff said they knew something should be done about our training fund and they would work with us to get it back. A man asked if we could get that back would we accept the $150,000 insurance. I said no. If you put $150,000 insurance requirement on everyone who travels by private vehicle then maybe we could accept that. Otherwise if you put it on just motorcyclists then we will sue.

I believe the final version of any Bill will deal primarily with a Motorist Awareness Program with possibly some other items to cut down on the number of collisions in the state especially where vulnerable vehicles or pedestrians are concerned. We will be meeting again soon. We will draft a letter to each member of the Senate Finance Committee concerning our Rider Training Fund within the next 3-4 days.

We have asked Representative Norma "Da Lady" Chavez to track down the exact break down of our proposed Budget for the coming Biennium. We know there is in excess of $9,000,000 still left in the Fund. We shall be working primarily with Senator Hinojosa on that side of the building to reach a solution to this problem.

We have a MC Safety Seminar coming up tomorrow in Austin at the Moose Lodge on E.M.Franklin. After attending that function I will head back to Houston for an appointment with another Dr. and then I don’t have another appointment until March 3rd. Hopefully they will get the House Committee members named before this week is over and I can get to work with them on the Training Fund.

Our District Advisor Meeting will be held at the State Office, Saturday Feb. 21st. We will be meeting at the house directly behind the office on the same piece of property.

Sputnik
State Chair TMRA 2