Legislative Update

What Happened, many have asked. I will try here to lay out some of the Bills we were involved with, what they were intended to do and what became of them.
SB 298 the Road Block Bill once again died in the House Committee after having passed in the Senate. Despite changing the name to Sobriety Check Point Texans saw it for what it was and said “NO THANKS MADD” This is the third time this Bill has been killed but MADD will never give up as long as they can find an Author. We have to be ready again next session.

SB 506 the Lane Splitting Bill Died in House Public Safety Committee after having passed in the Senate. This Bill came from a Man who moved here from California and asked for it. He said: “Give me a helmet law any time but let me split lanes like they do in California. We don’t agree with helmet laws so we wanted no part of the Bill. We were in committee when they laid it out and asked for our support. I told them I would not support the Bill but I would not oppose it. There were several of us in the hearing along with several written testimonies for our Highway Safety Bill. We finished our testimony and walked out. Our Bill passed but SB 506 died in committee.

SB 404 This Bill would have extended the life of TxDOT and continued on with selling our highway systems to Cintra Zachary for 50 years. It allows for TxDOT to continue to enter into agreements with private companies to create Toll Road Projects thru 2016 rather than being sunset out in August of next year. The contract is already written and awaits passage of this Bill to be signed SB 404 died in Calendars SB 17 Would basically allow for tolling highways already built. It lays out all kinds of ways to take over these highways in part or totally without requiring any form of cost except where the Federal government is involved. SB 17 died in Calendars.

SB 855 would allow local areas to add ten cents a gal to gasoline tax, charge for parking in downtown parking lots and garages and several other local taxes to build local highway infrastructure. This would allow TxDOT to spend the gasoline tax on other issues. It would also pave the way for more Toll Roads. This Bill also died in Calendars HB 11 & 13 are just the opposite of the two preceding Bills. HB 11 would Sunset TxDOT in August 2011 and eliminate any authority to sell out our highway system to Cintra-Zachary or anyone else by repealing the authority providing for establishment of the Trans Texas Corridor. HB 13 would remove any authority to toll highways that have already been built as free roads or freeways. Both of these Bills also died in committee.
Rep. Leibowitz the Author of these two Bills took both and added them as Amendments to HB 300 the actual TxDOT Sunset Bill. Senator Carona pledged to remove those two Anendments and add SB 404, SB 17 and SB 855 to get the Governors Bills back into play. HB 300 will come back to the House today and. The House will not concur and will call for a conference Committee.
They will instruct the Conferees prior to them being named. We can only hope the House will stand strong and refuse to allow the HB 300 out of Conference and let the whole thing die.
It is no surprise that Carona wants Rick Perry’s highway Bills back in play. The only surprise is the other names on his Bills. Senators you would never have expected to be willing to put the screws to the citizens of Texas who put them in office.
Some of us worked very hard to kill these two Bills on our own time. We felt they were far more important to the welfare of the state than the Bills we had introduced but unfortunately most riders didn’t share that view. Therefore those of us who felt that way were simply required to work that much harder. I am very proud of those riders who worked with other organizations to show that some Bikers do care what happens to this state.
We also worked very hard for the two House Bills as well as HB 300. We believe like all those we worked with that it is better to lose it all than to allow Rick Perry and Carona to win this time around. He will of course call a Special Session and I personally will have more time to work on these issues.

SB 362 was the Bill to require different forms of photo Identification to vote in Texas as well as having a Voter Registration Card. This Bill was placed on Major State Calendar as being very important. We expect the Governor to call a Special Session if this Bill doesn’t pass and of course it won’t. The Democrats called a slow down as the Bill was on Major State Calendar and would come up if they passed the Local and Consent Calendar too quickly. With 64 Democrats and 65 Republicans on the Floor they were afraid they couldn’t hold their members together and get one Republican to vote with them.
Of course Speaker Straus had abdicated his role as leader and allowed Rep Craddick to take charge and they may have been correct. Still I feel they should have fought it out. The one contentious vote to come up was 64 Ayes and 64 Nays and rather than vote Speaker Straus let the Bill die because it didn’t get one more vote to pass.
With all the school kids being recognized from the Floor, one of the Democrats (I won’t say who) had the nerve to ask (Do you think these students would be proud to see that we care about each Bill and ask questions about them) Their first question was “Mr. Chairman will you tell me when I have reached 9 minutes and 45 seconds please”. If they speak 10 minutes they kill the Bill and they didn’t plan to do anything but waste time. Those few who were involved in this fiasco should have been ashamed to have the kids see them acting like that.

As for our Bills:

This isn’t exactly a Bill but we asked Da’Lady, Rep Norma Chavez to get our Rider Training Fund back so DPS could not take over $250,000 off the top of our Budget to use for their own purposes. One Amendment was offered to rededicate our Training Fund and state that DPS could not take any part of it for their own use. A second Amendment to the Appropriation Committee was to return our full funding to $2,000,040 dollars for the next Biennium. This to me was a priority issue and it worked. Thanks Lady.

HB 1569 our Equal Access Bill passed unanimously in committee and was put on House Resolution and Consent Calendar. When it came to the Floor for a full vote it again passed by a vote of 100 Ayes to 36 Nays. It was then sent to the Senate. It was called up in Business and Commerce Committee.
We testified during the hearing but the Chairman never brought the Bill up for a vote. Therefore the Bill died in committee and I will have a conversation with the chair as soon as we go SINE DIEE in six days. I would have expected this of Senators Duncan or Harris but I was hoping Senator Fraser could be his own man once and let us see how each member voted. I personally believe every Bill deserves a vote if it is heard in committee.

SB 1967 the Highway Safety Bill. We worked this Bill out with what we believed was any group that had a stake in the outcome of the Bill. Each group gave something and this enabled us to come up with a comprehensive Safety Bill. The Bill passed in the Senate committee unanimously and was placed on Local and uncontested Calendar. It came to the Floor and again passed unanimously.

When we went to the House Committee we got a unanimous vote and the Bill was placed on Local and Consent Calendar. While sitting in the House Gallery waiting for the Bill to come to the Floor Terri came in and advised me we had a problem with the Bill. We headed for Da’Lady’s office ready for battle. At first we were shown a Bill Rep Brown wanted to attach to our Bill to Have the Spyder Bike registered as a motorcycle in Texas.
At first I refused the Bill as I didn’t feel comfortable with gambling with our Bill the way things were going down there this session.

Then came the blockbuster as the other shoe dropped. Houston and Dallas Police Dept. had a problem with the Failure to Yield section of the Bill.
Seems their paid Lobbyist had failed to notice this Bill until it was scheduled to come to the Floor for its second reading. They had a problem with the Class A and Class B Misdemeanor called for. They feared if they hit someone thru negligence and it injured anyone they could be found guilty of at least a Class A Misdemeanor and if it resulted in serious injury or death they could lose their license to be a police officer. They were OK with the fine but not the classification. Excuse me while I feel sorry for them…NOT. They were paying Lobbyist with taxpayer money and they come on the day we are scheduled for a vote and want to amend the Bill.

At first we said no then realized if we passed the Bill the way it read they could go to the governor and ask him to Veto the Bill. Finally we decided to go check with Senator Carona to see if he would concur with the Bill if we sent it back. He agreed so we asked about the Spyder Amendment and he accepted that one also. We passed the Bill as Amended and it has now returned to the Senate where it awaits concurrence.
Today we watched as SB 1967 received a vote in the Senate. Senator Carona, true to his word asked for concurrence and the vote to accept was unanimous. The Bill now goes to the governor for his signature. It has been a long hard battle but one well worth the effort. It has once again been my pleasure to represent your issues through another session.

Of course there are still committee hearings to attend throughout the next 18 months and campaigns to be worked for the upcoming year but those things are minor compared to what we have just gone through. Thanks to all who took part in the session. Special thanks to our TMRA 2 Legislative Task Force. They took up the slack and made things go much easier this session. And a very special thanks to Britney Parks the 13 year old protégé who served as the youngest member of that Task Force.
I have written a letter to the governor laying out the Bill’s history and asking that he sign SB 1967. Feel free to contact the Governor’s office asking for his signature if you are so inclined.

Sputnik
State Chair
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association

HB 1967 PASSED OUT OF THE HOUSE TUESDAY NIGHT. ONE MORE VOTE IN THE SENATE AND
IT HEADS TO THE GOVERNOR.

Sputnik

We fought the good fight but it appears it will all be for naught. The
House Democrats are willing to kill everything left to keep the Voter ID
Bill off the Floor. I can understand their thought process but it hurts. I
will be working today (Sunday) to see if there is any possible way to
salvage SB 1967.

We had our State Meeting yesterday in between my watching the House votes.
That also created a sad feeling in the pit of this old man's stomach. With
very few members present we had only five District Advisors elected to
serve for the next two years. Based on our voting record it appears most
of us have decided to give up and let everything gp down without a fight.

I'll have a complete update very soon.

Sputnik
Still State Chair

HB 1569 the Equal Access Bill will be heard tomorrow morning at 9:00am in
the Betty King Meeting Room. That is on the East end of the Capitol on the
second Floor. That is not one of the meeting rooms in the extension.
I know it's quick and probably none of you can make it but that is how
things work around here. It just keeps you running.

Sputnik

Just as I predicted SB 1967 came out of Committee today with a vote of 6
Ayes 0 Nayes and 3 absent. It was sent to Local and Consent as we
requested. It could come to the Floor for a full House vote as early as
Monday. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this a success.

Now I'm going to ask you just one more time for your support this session.
HB 1569 the Equal Access Bill has been sent to the Senate Business and
Commerce Committee. Here are the members of that committee:
Their Email addresses are firstname.lastname@senate.state.tx.us

Chair: troy.fraser@senate.state.tx.us

Vice Chair: Chris Harris

Members: Kip Averitt

Kevin Eltife

Craig Estes

Mike Jackson

Eddie Lucio, Jr.

Leticia Van de Putte

Kirk Watson
Send the Chairman an Email asking him to please bring the HB 1569 up for a
vote. Send each of the others a note asking them to please support HB 1569
If you live in Senate District 11 thank Senator Mike Jackson for
Sponsoring the Bill.
If we can get this one out of committee we will be batting 1000. Give it
the best you have and lets just see what happens. We are the last people
in Texas it is legal to discriminate against.
I shall of course be meeting with them or theior staff beginning tomorrow
morning.

Thanks,

Sputnik
State Chair
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association

SB 369 Carona’s Criminal Gang Data Base Bill came out of the House
Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today with the report printed and
distributed. I believe it will end up going to Calendars which will
possibly kill it. Either way I believe it would need some changes to it in
another session before it could affect us.

HB 169 the Sobriety Checkpoint Bill is dead. Time ran out on it before it
got a second reading in the House. SB 298, Carona’s Sobriety Checkpoint
Bill is still pending in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. It
has been amended and should it come out as amended, go to the Floor and
pass, it would still have to go back to the Senate to see if they would
concur with the amendment to the Bill. I do not believe it will go to the
Floor and if it does I don’t see any way there would be time for it to get
back to the Senate and pass. Hopefully we have dodged this ROAD BLOCK BILL
again despite the name change.

Today we asked my senator, Mike Jackson to Sponsor HB 1569 the Equal
Access Bill. He immediately said of course which is good as he is on the
committee it went to. Senator Hinojosa’s Chief of Staff called me shortly
there after to say he was going to speak to Chairman Frazier about
carrying the Bill so I asked him to have the Senator Co-sponsor it.

SB 1967 came up for a hearing today. Thanks to all the bikers(you know who
you are) that Emailed written testimony to our secretary Terri to print up
and turn in to the committee. We had a pretty good crowd in the room to
start off with but it took so long for the hearing to begin that most of
them had just signed cards and left by then. My Task Force members and the
Vice President of Texas Motorcycle Roadriders Association stayed to the
bitter end.

Da’Lady laid out the Bill and then we said our piece. Then they read
through the impressive list of those who were in favor of the Bill and
Da’Lady closed. She asked that they pass it quickly and send it to Local &
Consent. If everything goes as expected it should be passed by mid week
next week if not sooner. Thanks to everyone who came out even though you
didn’t get to stay. It was very much appreciated.

Da”Lady, for those who may not know that is Rep. Norma Chavez handed us a
card showing that she had just graduated from the University of Texas.
Congratulations to her. Colonel Beckworth was present to give an annual
report on DPS. He came over and chatted with me for a while and I got to
congratulate him on his promotion as he is now the first black man to head
the Department of Public Safety.

I’ll send more when I know more.
Sputnik
State Chair/TMRA 2

Don’t forget the State Meeting is at the office this weekend. I want at
least one member of each chapter present.

SB 1967 the Highway Safety Bill will be heard in the Public Safety Committee at 8:00 am on Monday May 18th in room E2.014.
I will make the rounds tomorrow of all the members of the committee to ask for their support so we can possibly get the Bill on Local and Consent as time is running out.

Sputnik

MRF E-MAIL NEWS Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

For Immediate Release

8 May 2009

Contact: Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice President of Government Relations
Email: jeff@mrf.org

ANOTHER BUSY WEEK IN WASHINGTON

Bikers Inside the Beltway 2009

Do not be left out by missing this historic ride to the nation's capitol
next week, May 14, 2009. Join many of your fellow motorcyclists from
across the country as they converge on Washington for a day. The
Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has reserved parking along the national
mall, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument. Come
join us as we educate members of Congress on the importance of motorcycle
safety. Contact the MRF's DC office if have any questions about attending
or local accommodations. You can find more event details at www.mrf.org.
Legislative News.

The MRF is pleased to report that the United States House of
Representatives has passed House Resolution 269. The bill "supports the
goals of May is Motorcycle Safety Month." Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and
Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX) who both also chair the U.S. House of
Representatives Motorcycle Safety Caucus, introduced the bill.
Congresswoman Giffords had this to say in the House chamber the day of the
vote, "H. Res. 269 also serves as a reminder to all riders and motorists
to always share the road respectfully. I have been riding and racing
motorcycles for over 20 years - so the issue of motorcycle safety is of
great importance to me. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the
Motorcycle Industry Council, the American Motorcyclist Association, and
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation for all that they do to support
motorcyclists."

The MRF would like to thank Mrs. Giffords and Dr. Burgess for the
commitment to motorcycle safety.

NHTSA Meeting.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gathers
together, on a quarterly basis, government safety officials and the
stakeholders in the motorcycle safety community to update the group on
private and public motorcycle safety initiatives that are ongoing or
recently completed. The MRF, AMA, MIC, MSF, ASMI, and Harley Davidson, to
name a few on the private side, attended the meeting on May 6. Also in
attendance were staff members from National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The newly appointed
NHTSA boss, Chuck Hurley, did not attend.

Nothing especially earth shattering was discussed at the NHTSA meeting,
with perhaps one exception - the much anticipated preliminary results of
the Crash Causation Study pilot study. Just a few tidbits of early data
were revealed, such as after launching the study with 53 crashes, they
were left with complete data for just 23 of those crashes due to refusals
to participate or no injury sustained, etc.

The methodology is a 1700-point data collection process with a double
control function. That means after collecting the 1700 different data
points on a qualifying crash, the investigators go out to the scene of the
crash one week later at the same time of day and ask motorcyclists riding
by to voluntarily pull over and answer some questions about why they think
they didn't crash. To simply collect the data from this process costs
$7,507. That is less than the $10,000 estimate that has been rumored, but
that number doesn't include the data crunching, reporting, and many other
administrative costs.

The full study is still laboring away with funding problems, but the feds
have promised that a study will be done. It may not be as large as
everyone had hoped, but they have vowed to do something.

FHWA MAC Meeting

The MRF also attended the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Motorcycle
Advisory Council's (MAC) semi-annual meeting on May 7. This was the first
meeting for the group's Designated Federal Official (DFO), Mike Griffith.
Griffith is a career government transportation official, spending much
time in the statistics and engineering fields, and he held up well for his
first meeting with the MAC.

The MAC is comprised of rider groups, private sector engineers and
government officials, and meets to analyze every aspect of the nation's
transportation infrastructure and critique areas that impact motorcycles.
The recommendations of the MAC are then delivered to the Secretary of
Transportation for consideration.

The MAC spent a lot of time hearing about the upcoming national traveler
opinion and perception survey. The MAC was tasked with developing
questions concerning motorcycles and motorcyclists to be included in the
random survey of 5000 Americans.

Also it was revealed that the Intelligent Transportation Office at the
Department of Transportation has adopted an "all weight vehicles" approach
to include motorcycles and the heaviest highway users.

Another noteworthy item was the announcement from the Transportation
Research Board regarding a study titled "Factors Related to Serious Injury
and Fatal Motorcycle Crashes with Traffic Barriers," due to be completed
in late 2011.

You can read more about the charter, minutes, mission statement and
members of the FHWA MAC on their website at
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/mac/.

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Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at http://www.mrf.org/join.php
or call 1-202-546-0983

Registration is easy and secure for MRF Regional and Meeting of the Minds
conferences. Visit our website at http://www.mrf.org/events.php for
further details and registration information.

Send in your nominations and donations for the MRF's Young Activist
Scholarship fund today. For complete details, visit
http://www.mrf.org/yascholarship.php.

Sign up today for the MRF's new roadside assistance program by visiting
http://www.mrf.org/mrfroadside.php The program is available to MRF members
and non-MRF members.

(c)All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction
permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated
in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights
organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists'
rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC,
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted
exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early
1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause
of rider safety and rider freedom.

The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the
very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading
members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and
regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional
and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as
well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.

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Ride Safe. Ride Free. Ride Today.
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HB 1569 today passed the House by a recorded vote of 100 Ayes to 36 nayes.
The Bill now heads to thye Senate where the going won't be easy. But it is
doable if we all work on it.

Sputnik
State Chair

MRF E-MAIL NEWS Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

For Immediate Release

5 May 2009

Contact: Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice President of Government Relations
Email: jeff@mrf.org

MRF Bikers Inside the Beltway 2009 Event Details

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is holding its inaugural ride to
the Nation's Capitol for Motorcycle Awareness Month. Known as "Bikers
Inside the Beltway," the event will be dedicated to its creator, the
recently departed MRF Vice President and long-time motorcyclists' rights
legend Michael "Boz" Kerr.

The MRF is encouraging bikers nationwide to ride their motorcycles to
Washington DC for this historic event. We have reserved secure parking for
motorcycles adjacent to the U.S. Capitol; this location should make for an
impressive display of bikes.

We have invited all members of Congress to attend the event, but if you
are planning to be here you should let your U.S. Senators and
Representative know, and ask them to step outside for a photo op with you
and a backdrop of motorcycles. The MRF's DC staff will help coordinate
any details and answer any questions you may have about arranging meetings
with your members of Congress.

What: Motorcycle Riders Foundation "Bikers Inside the Beltway" National
Motorcycle Awareness Month Ride and Lobby Day

When: May 14, 2009, 9:00 am - 2:30 pm

Where: Reserved motorcycle parking is along the 0-100 block of 3rd Street
SW, only steps from the U.S. Capitol. A Washington DC map will be posted
on the MRF website, or you can use this link for the map and directions:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=10195118391075910986
0.000468b197cce57785d6b&ll=38.886707,-77.009418&spn=0.012193,0.01914&z=16

Due to the popularity of this event, the MRF obtained additional parking.
We will meet at the 3rd street parking location at 9:00 am and walk one
block to the staging area on the Capitol grounds where a smaller number of
bikes will be parked.

Please contact jeff@mrf.org or call 202-546-0983 if you are planning to
ride your motorcycle to this historic event, or if you have any questions
about the event itself or local accommodations.

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Do not reply to this email, it will be discarded.
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To subscribe or unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit
http://www.mrf.org/subscribe.php

Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at http://www.mrf.org/join.php
or call 1-202-546-0983

Registration is easy and secure for MRF Regional and Meeting of the Minds
conferences. Visit our website at http://www.mrf.org/events.php for
further details and registration information.

Send in your nominations and donations for the MRF's Young Activist
Scholarship fund today. For complete details, visit
http://www.mrf.org/yascholarship.php.

Sign up today for the MRF's new roadside assistance program by visiting
http://www.mrf.org/mrfroadside.php The program is available to MRF members
and non-MRF members.

(c)All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction
permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated
in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights
organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists'
rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC,
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted
exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early
1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause
of rider safety and rider freedom.

The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the
very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading
members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and
regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional
and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as
well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.

_______________________________________________
mrfnews mailing list
mrfnews@mrf.org
http://mrf.org/mailman/listinfo/mrfnews_mrf.org

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You may unsubscribe from this mailing
list at any time by clicking here:
http://mrf.org/mailman/listinfo/mrfnews_mrf.org
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enter your email address.

Ride Safe. Ride Free. Ride Today.
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MRF E-MAIL NEWS Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

For Immediate Release

4 May 2009

Consistent with the established policy of the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation, this information is being forwarded at the request of Freedom
of Road Riders, Inc. Missouri Executive Officer.

=========================================

Contact:
Mark Chapman,
Chairman, Freedom of Road RidersR,Inc., chairman@forr.net

Legislative News and Call to Action

This is the bill we are trying to make into law. Currently it is on the
Governor of Missouri's desk awaiting his signature if he signs it that
would be fantastic but if he ignores it, it will still become law. If he
vetoes it we are done till next year.

SCS/SB 202 - This act provides that operating a motorcycle, in and of
itself, shall not be considered evidence of comparative negligence. The
act also provides that when investigating an accident or settling an
automobile insurance policy claim, no insurer, agent, producer, or claims
adjuster of an insurer shall assign a percentage of fault to a party based
upon the sole fact that the party was operating a motorcycle in an
otherwise legal manner. This provision is similar to SB 505 (2007).

This act also exempts persons 21 years of age or older from wearing
protective headgear except when operating or riding motorcycles or
motortricycles upon interstate highways. The motorcycle helmet exemption
expires on August 28, 2014 (Section 302.020).

The opposition to SB 202 has started, I received word today that the
opposition is asking for people to contact the Governor and ask for him to
veto SB202.

If you want our comparative fault and helmet mod bill to become law NOW is
the time to take action.

Here is what I would like for you to do:

Contact the Governor and Lieutenant Governor using the links below.

You, your friends and neighbors should to go to
www.governor.mo.gov/constituents/ for the Governor and
www.ltgov.mo.gov/question.htm for the Lieutenant Governor.

Fill out the form the subject would be legislation.

Then simply ask for SB202 to become law.

That is all there is to it, I did it and it took about 2 minutes.

As always thanks for your support,

Mark Chapman,
Central Committee Chairman: Freedom of Road Riders, Inc.

==========================================================
Do not reply to this email, it will be discarded.
==========================================================

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit
http://www.mrf.org/subscribe.php

Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at http://www.mrf.org/join.php
or call 1-202-546-0983

Registration is easy and secure for MRF Regional and Meeting of the Minds
conferences. Visit our website at http://www.mrf.org/events.php for
further details and registration information.

Send in your nominations and donations for the MRF's Young Activist
Scholarship fund today. For complete details, visit
http://www.mrf.org/yascholarship.php.

Sign up today for the MRF's new roadside assistance program by visiting
http://www.mrf.org/mrfroadside.php The program is available to MRF members
and non-MRF members.

(c)All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction
permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated
in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights
organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists'
rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC,
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted
exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early
1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause
of rider safety and rider freedom.

The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the
very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading
members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and
regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional
and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as
well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.

_______________________________________________
mrfnews mailing list
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Ride Safe. Ride Free. Ride Today.
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Things have kicked into high gear just as I predicted.

HB 1569, Equal Access, has been put on the Local & Consent Calendar to be heard on Monday May, 5th. I had come home to for a doctors appointment to get some meds renewed then get ready to leave for NCOM. But now will return to Austin for the vote monday, keep my appointment tuesday then fly out for NCOM Wednesday.

SB 298 Roadblock Bill is scheduled to be heard by Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Wednesday the 7th. Not much I can do with this one except file written testimony as that is the morning I fly out and the hearing is in the afternoon. Anyone interested can go to room E2.028 and speak against it.

Don't know if the Speaker paid any attention to our request or not but SB 1967 the Highway Safety Bill has been sent to Public Safety Committee as we requested. It may not matter but the odds are definitly in our favor now. We will be back from Reno before it comes to a hearing.

Ride Free - Ride Sober

Sputnik