 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
July 9th 2009 Legislative Wrap-up HB 442 MTR VEHICLE/MOTORCYCLES:Transfers the Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program to DPS&C Signed by the Governor ACT 138 Becomes effective September 1st 2009HB 639 MTR VEHICLE/MOTORCYCLES:Repeals the requirement to wear a helmet for certain motorcycle riders and operators. Considered by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on 6/10/09 and they refused to vote on it.SB 168 MOTOR VEHICLES:Requires all occupants 13 years of age and older to wear a seat belt while in certain motor vehicles. Representative Morris successfully had an amendment (4296) passed on this Bill on the House Floor mirroring HB 639. When the House Floor voted on the actual Bill it failed. June 10, 2009 Today the Senate Heath and Welfare Committee refused to vote on HB 639. Although I have personally never heard of this happening to a Bill before it surely means the death of the Bill. I wonder where our Governor, who made so many promises at the beginning of this session, was during the course of these events. This leads one to believe that we have ineffective leadership with him as Governor. A great example of this is Governor Kathleen Blanco was able to get the Helmet Law reinstated in one week once she exercised her influence on the Legislature and in two years of trying Governor Jindal hasn't been able to get it repealed.
James "Poet" Sisco State Executive President Abate Of La., Inc. June 9, 2009 HB 639 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Welfare (?) Committee tomorrow. I have written an email to the Governor in a last ditch attempt to get this Bill back on track as a true Freedom of Choice Bill. We shall see where it goes from here and whether the Governor responds.
The Honorable Bobby Jindal Governor, State of Louisiana Re: HB 639 Helmet Modification Bill Governor Jindal, My name is James L. Sisco, I am the State Executive President of Abate of Louisiana, Inc. and the State Representative for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. At the beginning of this Legislative session you stated on radio and TV that there were three Bills you wanted passed in this session, HB 639 being one of them. When you campaigned for Governor you made a promise to the motorcycling community that you would restore their freedoms lost, that thirty States in this country currently recognize, and called that promise "First Freedoms". Last week it came to our attention that the author of HB 639, Representative Jim Morris (Dist 1), placed an amendment on the Bill (amendment 3277) that reads as follows:
"Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person twenty-one years of age or older who chooses not to wear a helmet as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall have "economic only" uninsured motorist liability coverage with minimum limits of one hundred thousand dollars and shall be covered by a health care plan. Said person shall furnish proof of such coverage to any law enforcement officer upon the request of such officer."
This Amendment does nothing but caters to the insurance industry and shows that in order to obtain these freedoms that you promised we are required to "buy" them. Is this what you truly envisioned as how freedom should be gained, by buying it? Beyond the implication of that, if this Bill is not reverted back to its original form it and is allowed to pass as it is currently written it would become the most discriminatory anti-motorcyclist Bill in the history of the United States. The motorcycling community, not only in Louisiana, but also across this great country of ours is watching to see what you will do to rectify this Bill and they are being kept abreast of the developments by my Organization. This Bill is currently scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, a Committee it never should have been placed in, on the 10th of this month so time is of the essence. We, the motorcycling community, beseech you to exercise your influence in order to return this Bill to its former self, a TRUE freedom of choice Bill. Failure to accomplish this, and passage of this Bill in its current form, would do severe damage to the integrity of your office and this State. I look forward to your response which I will share with the motorcycling community across this country. James L. SiscoState Executive PresidentAbate of La., IncState RepresentativeMotorcycle Riders Foundation
JUNE 1, 2009 HB 639 was heard today on the House floor and I have good news and bad news. The good news is it passed through the House and is on it's way to the Senate, but the bad news is that the Representative that is the sponsor of the Bill (Representative Jim Morris Dist 1) also put an amendment on the Bill that effectively makes the Bill as unpalatable as last years HB 1295. This is how the Amendment reads: "( Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person twenty-one years of age or older who chooses not to wear a helmet as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall have "economic only" uninsured motorist liability coverage with minimum limits of one hundred thousand dollars and shall be covered by a health care plan. Said person shall furnish proof of such coverage to any law enforcement officer upon the request of such officer." Why the SPONSOR of the Bill would do something as INSANE as this is not yet known. Attempts are currently being made to contact Representative Morris to ask him why he would do this to a Bill that he himself sponsored. I will have further information as it becomes available. Ride Safe, Ride Free Poet State Executive President Abate Of La., Inc. May 26, 2009 HB 639: This Bill was finally heard by the House Transportation Committee and after testimony by the Representative from the Governors office it was passed UNOPPOSED. This Bill is projected to be heard early next week on the full House floor. Members of the motorcycling community need to start contacting the members of the House NOW, especially the one's that voted against last years Bill (HB 1295)! Here is a list of the Representatives who voted against last years Bill:
May 11, 2009 HB 639: was not heard today due to the Transportation Committee running out of time before the Bill could be heard. A representative from the Governor's office was there to push for the Bill so it appears that the Governor is making good on his promise this year to push for this legislation to pass. Further evidence of this is this recent article on NOLA.com: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/05/gov_bobby_jindal_outlines_his.htmlOne%20Voice%20Is%20But%20A%20Whisper,%20But%20A%20Thousand%20Voices%20Are%20A%20Roar%20!!! HB 442: This Bill has passed the House floor and is now awaiting introduction in the Senate. It looks like smooth sailing for a Bill we've tried for years to get introduced and passed. May 2, 2009 We need to start contacting the members of the Transportation Committee now. Click on this link http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Cmtes/H_Cmte_TRaddresses.asp to see their names and phone numbers. If you believe in Freedom of choice make your voice heard and take 5 minutes to make the call.______________________________________________________________________________________________________HB 639 (Representative James H. Morris District 1) MTR VEHICLE/MOTORCYCLES: Repeals the requirement to wear a helmet for certain motorcycle riders and operators (Click on Bill number to read full text of Bill)Freedom of choice, let's make it happen this year and hope that the Governor get's on board and keeps his campaign promise to us this time! Below is a list of Representatives who voted against our Modified Helmet Bill last year, work on them and get them to change their minds. HB 442 (Representative M. J. "Mert" Smiley): MTR VEHICLE/MOTORCYCLES: Transfers the Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program to DPS&C(Click on Bill number to read full text of Bill) One dollar of our motorcycle endorsement fees is supposed to be "statutorily Dedicated" to Rider Education. BESE has taken these fees and used them for their own purposes far too often and left the motorcyclists in this State out in the cold. By transferring this course to the DPS&C our money will be finally secured to be used for the purpose it was designed to be used for. We ask all motorcyclists in this State to contact their Representatives and urge them to support this Bill!
Subject: For Immediate Release Legislative Update 6/9/08
Due to the blatantly discriminatory Amendment (Amendment Number 4288) added to HB 1295 (modified helmet Bill) Abate of La., Inc. no longer supports this Bill in its current form. Representative M.J. "Mert" Smiley has stated that he will attempt to get this Amendment stripped from the Bill in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. If this attempt is unsuccessful he will defer this Bill for the remainder of the session which ends on June 23. Although Governor Jindal had promised us his help and support in this bid for the return of our Freedom of Choice in his campaign last year he has taken a lot of pressure over the firing of Colonel Champagne and has decided to stay out of this year's fight. Because of this some members of the House have shown just how anti motorcyclist they are. One Amendment that was accepted was Amendment number 4288 by Representative Jean-Paul Morrell (Dist 97) which requires anyone who decides to ride helmet free to have an additional $100,000 of economic uninsured motorist coverage and obtain private HMO coverage. Amendments that were not accepted include Amendment number 4292 stating anyone killed in a crash while not wearing a helmet shall be deemed an automatic Organ donor and Amendment number 3754 by Representative Neil C. Abramson (Dist 98) taking away the right to sue for injury or death of an unhelmeted motorcyclist unless it can be proven that a helmet would have made no difference in the outcome. Forced "donorcyclist" is scary enough but with the minimal penalties that the motoring public already receives for violating our right of way are we to understand that because we choose to enjoy our way of life as we see fit our lives are absolutely worthless? Aside from the Governors decision to stay out of the fight one of the biggest concerns to come to light is the lack of response from the motorcycling community itself. This lack of support was not from the Louisiana motorcyclists themselves but also from the motorcyclists across the country after a nationwide call to action was issued. One of the major issues discussed during the House Floor debate was the impact on tourism dollars since it is one of Louisiana's leading industries. In a poll of the Representatives it was found that there were, at most, thirty responses from motorcyclists across the country and little more from the motorcyclists in Louisiana itself. This is incomprehensible and leads to the question where all the freedom fighters are? What has happened to all the freedom loving members of the motorcycling community? In 2004 when the helmet law was reenacted by Governor Blanco members of this Organization were asked "Where was Abate?" and "Why did Abate let this happen?" Abate was then, now, and will forever be in the trenches fighting the good fight for Louisiana motorcyclists but we will always need the support and help of the members of the motorcycling community at large to win the fight. We are your voice and your primary source of information on issues affecting our way of life but without this support and help we will always be fighting a losing battle. While many members of this Organization spend days, months, and even years in addressing the issues that affect us all we ask of the motorcycling community is to spend ten or fifteen minutes when it is needed to contact their elected officials to voice their opinion. Is there anyone out there who is willing to spend so little to gain so much? This is exactly why I coined the phrase: One voice is a whisper, but a thousand voices are a ROAR! While the may be over for this year we have not given up yet. I strongly urge everyone who rides, everyone who plans to ride, everyone who used to ride, their family, and their friends to get actively involved in one last ditch effort to get this legislation stripped of Amendment 4288 in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and passed. The information on the Committee members can be found at this link: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Health&Welfare/Assignments.asp. Due to the recent elections and the influx of new Senators and Representatives and a lack of knowledge concerning their positions on motorcyclist related issues this year's session has given this Organization a lot of valuable information that can be used in formulating a strategy for next year's session if we are unsuccessful this year. We will be formulating a strategy based on this information and in the meantime will be posting the names of the elected officials and their individual stance concerning motorcyclists rights. If we do have to take up this issue again next year when we make the call MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! ABATE OF LOUISIANA SUPPORTS THESE BILLS
May 22, 2008
May 14, 2008
Yesterday our Bills suffered a tough time on the House Floor. HB 864, the Bill to move the Riders Education course out of BESE and into the DPS, didn't get the 2/3rd's majority vote required to pass on the floor. This was reportedly due to the fact that the fiscal note tied to it was over $900,000.00. This Bill would have secured our training funds that are paid for by motorcyclists' endorsement fees, funds that BESE has raided every time the schools were in trouble (which was often) and it would have also created new course sites that are sorely needed. The Representatives decided that our safety wasn't worth the price tag. Below is a list on how they voted: NAYS Barras Jackson G. Nowlin Barrow Jackson M. Perry Burford Jones, R. Peterson Burrell Kleckley Robideaux Champagne LaFonta Smith, J. Cortez Leger Smith, P. Foil Marchand Williams Henry Mills Wooton Honey Morrell Hutter Morris Total - 28Here are the Fors YEAS Abramson Franklin Monica Anders Gisclair Montoucet Aubert Greene Ponti Badon, B. Guinn Pope Baldone Hazel Pugh Billiot Hill Richard Burns, H. Hines Richardson Carmody Hoffmann Ritchie Carter Howard Schroder Chandler Johnson Simon Chaney Katz Smiley Connick LaBruzzo Smith, G. Cromer Lambert St. Germain Danahay Ligi Talbot Doerge Little Templet Downs Lopinto Trahan Ellington Lorusso Fannin McVea Total - 52 HB 1295, our Modified Helmet Bill, was withdrawn from the calendar temporarily when it became apparent that it was going to be attacked with amendments that would have rendered the Bill unpalatable to members of the motorcycling community. The amendments are as follows: Look for the ABATE tent at a Bike Night for information on how YOU can make a difference in YOUR future. Sincerely, James “Poet” Sisco State Executive President A.B.A.T.E. of Louisiana, Inc. 1-800-393-5966 Abatepoet@aol.com |
