NC Senate Bill 64 - What happens now?
At least one person has asked follow-up questions about NC Senate Bill 64 Motorcycle Learners Permits and "what happens now?"
"When will Senate Bill 64 be heard in the Senate?"
I think it will be on the senate calendar for Tuesday. While some bills read in the House yesterday morning have already made it onto the Senate calendar for Monday, SB 64, which was read in the afternoon is not yet on the calendar.
"How can I contact senators to voice my opinion about Senate Bill 64 Motorcycle Learners Permits?"
To find out who your senator is, you can go to http://ncleg.net and at Who represents me?, found in the lower right, type your 9 digit zip code.
To find contact information for all senators, from http://ncleg.net click on Senate, then click on Senate member list.
"Why the vigil?"
It is entirely possible for the Senate to motion for amendments, such as change the requirement back to 21 year olders. I expect this kind of maneuvering from Senator Rand, or a more junior senator who wants to do Tony Rands' bidding. Remember, the original intent of this bill is to pass legislation requested by base commanders, and the amended bill does not do what the base commanders wanted. Neither Tony Rand nor Harry Brown will want to tell the base commanders that the bill was amended to apply to those under 18.
What happens if the Senate disagrees with the amendments made in the House?
For those of you who remember the audacious last minute change to H563 in the Senate in 2007, this is a different situation. In that case, the committee substitute was made in a senate committee, but a motion for amendment happened at the last minute in senate chambers. In the current situation pertaining to SB 64, the amendments were made in the House and are being sent back to the Senate for concurrence.
The rules pertaining to this are as follows:
If the original house objects to the amendments adopted in the other house, the two presiding officers may appoint members to a conference committee which seeks to reconcile the differences between the two houses. If the committee can agree upon the disputed subject, the committee reports to each house, and the two houses vote on the recommended text. If either house rejects the conference committee's recommendation, new members to the conference committee may be appointed to try again, otherwise the bill is defeated.
[Source: ncleg.net]
A clarification about the studies portion of the bill:
Some people have mistakenly reported that the requirement for a study about the number of classroom seats available has been removed/replace. Untrue. The amended bill now has five sections and two sections pertain to studies. A review of the updated bill, with status of 5th edition engossed, as currently published and can be reviewed here.
If Senate Bill 64 gets through the Senate, is this our last chance to stop it from becoming enacted into law?
No. The bill would go to the Governor. We will have a brief window of opportunity to voice our opposition. For rules in detail which pertain to this process, you can see section 7 of "How a law is made" at the ncleg.net web site..
NC Motorcycle Licensing bill rejected by bikers.
Source: http://nchome.us/node/11
NC Motorcycle Licensing bill rejected by bikers.
Sun, 08/02/2009 - 02:54 — AMP
Raleigh NC (AMP)
NC State Senator Harry Brown introduced new motorcycle licensing regulations which many NC motorcyclists oppose. NC House passes SB 64 motorcycle learners permit bill.
On Thursday, July 30, 2009 a bill to change motorcycle learners permits and licensing requirements was approved by the NC House despite opposition within the motorcycling community. An amendment was introduced in House chambers prior to passage. The bill has been sent back to the senate for concurrence. Many motorcyclists were united in rejecting the legislation sponsored by Senator Harry Brown which was introduced at the request of the base commander at Camp Lejeune. In previous years, Senator Tony Rand attempted and failed to pass similar legislation requested by the Commandant at Fort Bragg.
The proposed bill would introduce mandatory and expensive training classes, and would limit the number of times learners permits can be renewed. There are no similar requirements placed on those who choose to operate other motor vehicles, creating a situation that is not equitable.
The previous Thursday, one NC motorcyclist rights group, B.O.L.T. of NC, with the help of many independent bikers, ramped up efforts to contact all NC House members to tell them they oppose the bill for several reasons, and continued to communicate their opposition for the entire week. In addition to demanding laws on par with other motor vehicles, B.O.L.T. was able to point out military regulations and case law which already gave base commanders all the authority they need to fix the problem of a few troops not following orders, which base commanders want addressed. According to military regulations, troops desiring to own a motorcycle are under orders, subject to the UCMJ, to take mandatory training courses. Bikers advised house members about a Fayetteville Observer interview in which the Fort Bragg garrison safety manager said the legislation would help "catch the 1% of troops who don't follow orders", and rejected the notion of using state legislation to force military influence onto the civilian population without sufficient justification.
Some legislators think the legislation will stop the perpetual renewal of learners permits, since it limits learners permits to one 6 month renewal. However, if that 6 month renewal expires before a person is able to get an endorsement, due to no classroom seat available, or any other reason, there does not appear to be any legal basis in preventing a person from obtaining another one year learners permit.
Within a day of the ramped-up efforts by B.O.L.T. and various independent bikers calling house reps, CBA/ABATE, the largest membership-based motorcyclist safety/rights/education organization in the state, issued a call to action on Friday which contained a useful set of talking points penned by Paul Whilms. The bill was removed from the house calendar on Monday. On Tuesday, the House removed the bill from the calendar once again. Tuesday afternoon, B.O.L.T. issued a in-state call to action specifically targeted at contacting the bill sponsor. This action was supported by B.O.L.T. National Director Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo. On Tuesday evening, the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) joined in the opposition by issuing an alert. Wednesday morning, bill sponsor Senator Harry Brown called Janice MacKay, B.O.L.T. of NC Director, to say an amendment was in the works, but details were not yet available. Wednesday afternoon, the House read the bill and heard a motion for amendment by Rep Dale Folwell who negotiated deals with the bill sponsor, NC DMV, CBA, and AMA, to make the bill agreeable to those parties involved in the negotiation. B.O.L.T. and many independent bikers continued to voice opposition, corresponding with any legislators who would listen via their laptops right from the house floor while the house was convened. The house passed the 2nd reading, 94 - 21. For an unknown reason, Speaker Hackney kept the bill on the calendar rather than allow it to go into a 3rd reading. The 3rd reading appeared on the calendar for the next day. The amendment was published. Some bikers continued to contact the legislators in opposition, on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, to clarify that a bad bill is still a bad bill, and should be voted against, regardless of any deals made by a few people. On Thursday, the bill passed in the house 75 - 33 and was engrossed. The final phone calls and emails to clarify steadfast opposition to the bad bill managed a 50% increase in the number of representatives voting against, as compared to the day before, but it was far from enough to prevent passage.
Those house members who opposed the bill in the 3rd reading, as requested, are:
Alexander, M.; Coates; Earle; Fisher; Glazier; Goodwin; Insko; Lucas; Luebke; Tarleton, Blackwell; Blust; Brubaker; Burr; Burris-Floyd; Current; Dollar; Hilton; Holloway; Hurley; Iler; Ingle; Johnson; Justus; Killian; McCormick; Moore; Sager; Setzer; Starnes; Tillis; West; Wiley
The "BENEVOLENT GOVERNMENT SPIN" on this, from at least one legislator who voted for the bill, is to make it appear that residents are being "allowed" something rather than being forced to comply with additional mandates.
At the time of this writing, the amended bill is expected to be read in the Senate as early as Tuesday, August 4, 2009.
All 50 senators have already been contacted, and advised that the bill should be voted against, for reasons of inequitable laws for motorcyclists, age discrimination, mandatory and expensive training courses which do not have enough classroom seats available, and legislation that does not appear to accomplish it's objectives. Ironically, Senate Bill 64 as amended, does not appear that it will do what the original requesters, the military base commanders, wanted.