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karen · Easyrider Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 55

New York Freedom Riders New York Legislation and news -2/19/10

NEW YORK UPDATES:
Motorcycle, helmet, gang, rights: no updates
[NOTE: Senate Committee agendas have not been posted.]

NY NEWS:

Senator Stachowski Virtual [Online] Budget Town Hall Meeting Related Committee: Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Related Issues: Budget

Date: Thursday, February 25th, 2010, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: NYS Capitol Albany, NY

Purpose

This February 25th Senator Stachowski will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting on the 2010-2011 budget. Ever wonder how the budget is crafted? Have questions about the pop and cigarette taxes propsed by Gov. Paterson? Program and service cuts?

This town hall will provide you with an opportunity to have your questions answered, while providing Senator Stachowski with critical input from the citizens of the the 58th Senate District.

Town Hall attendees will have several ways to participate:

-Call 800-930-9964 and leave a voicemail question, your question will be transcribed and read at the Town Hall. You can call in starting today through the event.

-Call 800-593-8954 the day of the event, February 25th, starting at 6:30. You'll be able to listen in on the live event.

Video of this event will be live streamed. Visit this page during the hours posted to watch. http://www.nysenate.gov/stachowskitownhall

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UPDATES:

ABATE of Illinois
http://www.abate-il.org/legislative/ondgo.htm

Action Alert!-17-FEB-2010
House Vehicles & Safety Committee
Hearing Feb 24 2010 10:00AM Capitol Building Room 115 Springfield, IL HB5031 - Motorcycle helmets for all Ask committee members to Vote No on this bill
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Maine
http://www.mecalm.org/
Maine Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles

MECALM SUPPORTERS OFFER NOISE COMPROMISE; CALL FOR VISIBLE INSPECTION STICKERS ON ALL BIKES, IMMEDIATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION -- February 2010

Forty supporters of Maine Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles (MECALM) are backing a compromise they hope will convince the legislature to pass a bill this year to crack down on motorcycle noise, without delay or further study. The idea was proposed in a letter (full text) sent February 16, 2010 to members of the Transportation Committee, which set a February 19 work session on LD1675, Sen. Nancy Sullivan’s “Act To Reduce Noise Caused by Motorcycles and Improve Public Health.” See MECALM's reaction to the bill.

The compromise would limit police to stopping only excessively loud motorcycles to check whether the muffler and chassis bear matching EPA labels as required by federal law and EPA regulation. Bikes operated at reasonable sound levels, and those parked on the street, would not be subject to label checks. The federal law has been in place since the early 1980s, but can only be enforced if first adopted locally.

“Our desire is not to penalize motorcycles that are operating quietly,” the MECALM supporters wrote. “While we would prefer that all bikes comply with the federal law EPA matching law, some after-market exhausts that lack the required label do operate quietly.” They said the proposed compromise “should eliminate any objections that quiet operators will be unfairly inconvenienced or targeted, a commonly expressed fear within the biking community. Only loud bikes, in the enforcing officer's opinion, would be stopped.” The MECALM supporters suggested an initial fine of $250, and $500 for subsequent violations, to “provide a meaningful deterrent.”
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New Hampshire Motorcycle Rights Organization www.nhmro.org/index.html
NHMRO
Hot Topics: It's Done!

February 17, 2010 We just learned that HB 1162 Motorcycle Protective Head Gear is GONE!!!
Great work everyone!!! This could not have been done with out all of your efforts and YOUR voice!
Just remember - it could come back next year (again).
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Tennessee
HB2551/SB2649
Motor Vehicles - As introduced, adds motorcycles to lemon laws regarding warranty protections. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 24, Part 1.
HB2551: Status: 02/17/2010- Placed on cal. Consumer & Employees Affairs Committee for 02/24/2010
SB2649: Status: 02/18/2010- Placed on S. Trans Comm. cal. for 02/23/2010
Bill text: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/HB2551.pdf
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Vermont
Bill: H. 733
Title: AN ACT RELATING TO REGULATING THE DECIBEL LIMITS FOR MOTORCYCLES
Sponsor(s): Sharpe, David, Fisher, Michael
Request: 10-0208
Drafter: Gardner
Status: 2/2/2010 -Read First Time and Referred to the Committee on Transportation
Bill text: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2010/bills/Intro/H-733.pdf
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ABATE of Washington
www.abate-wa.org/Blogs/Legislative/default.aspx
HB2511 - Addressing Motorcycle Profiling Passes the House 96 to 2. by StateLAO 15. February 2010 14:12

Feb 15, 2010
Olympia Washington

In a monumental and historical vote, the House passed HB2511 -Addressing Motorcycle Profiling by a margin of 96 to 2.

This landslide vote provides an indication that legislators are actually getting the idea Profiling is real and needs legislative relief. Rep. Charles Ross ® 14th District noted that the lack of opposition during the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEP) hearing was a silent show of support from Law Enforcement. The big surprise during the House floor debate was that again there was no opposition, and after a show of support from prime sponsor Rep. Steve Kirby (D) 29th District, Ross , and Hurst (D) 31st District and the Chair of the PSEP committee, the bill was opened for vote and immediately passed.

It was remarkable to hear the legislators mention the organized and well presented information at the PSEP hearing from the motorcycle community.

This bill has never gone this far in any previous year. Next step – The bill will be read into the record in the Senate and assigned to a hearing committee, most likely Judiciary. Then the process gets real interesting trying to get a public hearing, and to get the support of the majority of the 49 Senators.
Time is not on our side, as there are only about 3 weeks left in this years session before what is know as Adjounment Sine Die (latin for adjounment until next legislative session) on March 11th, 2010.

This has been a very good year for ABATE of Washington and the US defenders of Washington. We have worked together to make this happen, and are truly on the same page.

Donnie ‘Mr. Breeze’ Landsman
ABATE of Washington
Legislative Affairs Officer
legislative1@abate-wa.org
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ABATE of Washington
HB2511 Introduced in the Senate
by StateLAO 17. February 2010 09:44
Feb 17, 2010 – Olympia Washington

HB2511-Addressing Motorcycle Profiling received a First Reading on the Senate Floor and has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary committee. This is the first step in the process of moving the Bill to a vote from the 49 Senator.
Whether the you are a constituent or not, you need to petition all 8 member of the Senate Judiciary and urge the committee to schedule a Public Hearing as soon as possible. See committee information below; Click on the Senators name; fill in the information; and let your voice be heard. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW REPORTS:

www.motorcyclistonline.com/newsandupdates/122_1002_mic_delivers_signed_letters_to_congress/index.html

MIC Delivers Nearly 4,000 Signed Letters from Industry Professionals to Congress Letters urge Congress to stop the ban on youth size ATVs and dirt bikes

Washington, D.C., Feb. 18, 2010 - Today, representatives from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) delivered nearly 4,000 letters to Congress signed by motorcycle industry professionals that have had their livelihoods impacted by the lead provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The letters were signed and collected at the Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, IN, Feb. 12-15. MIC also hosted other activities and provided multi-media communications tools that allowed dealers, MIC members, and Expo exhibitors to urge Congress to take action to permanently end the ban on youth vehicles.

"We believe these letters along with the other communications will help add to the momentum encouraging Congress to amend the CPSIA's lead content provisions to exclude youth vehicles," said MIC chairman Larry Little. "Our Industry has a voice and we believe Congress is hearing us loud and clear. The timing of the show couldn't have been better given the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) recent recommendations."

The CPSC recently requested flexibility to grant exclusions from the lead content limit to address certain products including youth vehicles in a Jan. 15 report to Congress.

MIC's general counsel Paul Vitrano said, "We are headed in the right direction, but we still need to have our voice heard. We encourage every rider and everyone in the industry to weigh in. The Expo in Indianapolis was a great kick-off, but there are still opportunities to urge Congress to stop the ban."

The letters were delivered to Chairman Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member Hutchison (R-TX) of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and to Chairman Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce as well as to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.

"It is important that the Committees that have jurisdiction over this issue, and who will be important players in any ultimate resolution, have a real understanding of how many people from their states, districts and across America are impacted by the ban," stated MIC's director of federal affairs, Duane Taylor.

Please visit www.stopthebannow.com to have your voice heard.

Three key reasons why youth ATVs and motorcycles should be excluded from the CPSIA's lead content provisions: 1. The lead content poses no risk to kids. Experts estimate that the lead intake from kids' interaction with metal parts is less than the lead intake from drinking a glass of water. 2. The key to keeping youth safe is having them ride the right size vehicle. Kids are now at risk because the availability of youth ATVs and motorcycles is limited due to the lead ban. 3. The lead ban hurts the economy for no good reason when everyone is trying to grow the economy and create jobs. MIC estimates that a complete ban on youth model vehicles would result in about $1 billion in lost economic value in the retail marketplace every year.

Visit www.stopthebannow.com for background information, FAQs, and public outreach tools for the Stop The Ban campaign.

The Motorcycle Industry Council exists to preserve, protect and promote motorcycling through government relations, communications and media relations, statistics and research, aftermarket programs, development of data communications standards, and activities surrounding technical and regulatory issues. It is a not-for-profit, national industry association representing manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters, motorcycle/ATV/ROV parts and accessories, and members of allied trades such as insurance, finance and investment companies, media companies and consultants. The MIC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with a government relations office adjacent to Washington, D.C. First called the MIC in 1970, the organization has been in operation since 1914. Visit the MIC at www.mic.org.

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