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Owner of Largest Harley-Davidson Dealership Network Dies Riding to Sturgis

Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of the largest Harley-Davidson dealer nation, died
yesterday doing what he loved – riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He was on
his annual trip to Sturgis when he struck the driver's side door of a truck
towing a trailer on a Wyoming highway.

Read more about this amazing man:
http://www.examiner.com/x-16815-Houston-Motorcycle-Travel-Examiner

Shelly "TX Dragonfly"

I've just been named Motorcycle Travel Examiner out of Houston for Examiner.com.
While based in Houston, I will keep the entries along the lines of our magazine,
Thunder Roads Texas, reporting on events, riders, biker friendly travel, and
great roads around Texas.

Visit me at Examiner.com
(http://www.examiner.com/x-16815-Houston-Motorcycle-Travel-Examiner). Subscribe
to the page, comment on the entries, and tell me what you want to see out there!

I don't care WHAT you ride, just THAT you ride! So tell me what you're doing,
where you're going, on your bike.

Shelly "TX Dragonfly
www.ThunderRoadsTexas.com

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

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@...

Chair:          troy.fraser@...

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.

Patriot Guard SE Texas Flags Stolen

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We’ve just been notified that flags belonging to the SE Texas PGR have been
stolen.  Please be on the lookout for anyone trying to sell or otherwise get
rid of a large number of flags, poles, etc.  Please also alert anyone you
know who may hear of such a transaction trying to be made.  Additional
details are below and come from the State Captain.
If they come our way, let’s recover them for our brothers and sisters in SE
Texas.
Thanks

Steve Lucas
Deputy State Captain
North Texas PGR


<<<STOLEN FLAGS INFO>>>

One of South East Texas' support trucks had taken out his Flags to clean his
truck and stored them on his front porch. When he came back all of the flags
were gone.  Any help you can be will be greatly appreciated by DSC Rick
Cunningham and the SETexas PGR.

All Flags Mounted on 2 sections of 3/4 white PVC with a 3/4 inch coupling to
connect the 2 Five foot sections together with a cap on top painted Gold and
a clear coating of rubber over the Gold to protect the paint These flags are
rolled up ..two 5 foot sections with a rubber band holding the flag and the
PVC poles in place. The flags are mounted to the PVC pipe with 2 Black
Hillman Push-In Nylon Rivet 7/16 inch, 2 holes are drilled in to the pole to
hold the flag in place All the Flags taken were 3ft by 5 foot

In addition to the 50 American flags there were also taken
Then there were single sided Flags

World War II  Flag honoring them Blue flag , White circle with an eagle in
the center with the words in RED in the circle " A Grateful Nation
Remembers"  and the words at the bottom in Yellow "1941- 1945 1991-1995" and
at the bottom in white print the words "World War II"

2 Texas Flags

Blue Star Flag . White with a Blue star in the middle with Red border

Fire Department Flag.. Red with black lettering and the Fire Dept emblem in
the center

2 We Support Out Troops flags.. White flag .. These have the words. "WE
Support Out Troops"  with 4 main branches of the Armed Forces in 4 corners
and one has a large  Yellow Ribbon on it

KIA Killed in Action .. Red flag with Black lettering

POW/MIA Flag .. Prisoner Of War Flag .. Black with White lettering.. a
circle in the middle with the head of a POW in the middle and the words
"You are not forgotten" at the bottom and the letters "POW*MIA" across the
top

Viet Nam Veterans Flag.., Yellow flag with Viet Nam emblem and Stars on one
end with the words .." Viet Nam Veteran "  written on it

Viet Nam Complain flag .. Black flag with a picture of Viet Nam in the
center with a Red circle around it with 12 of major Complain troops emblems
on the outer side the circle and the words " Our Cause Was Just" written on
the top of the circle

PGR Flag ..Patriot Guard Flag .. Bright Yellow with Blue writing with a
triangle and 6 stars in it with the words  Patriot Guard Riders around the
triangle and the words " Standing for those Who Stood for Us" at the bottom

Korean War Veterans Flag .. Blue flag with a white circel with black print "
Korean War Veterans " and "1950-1953" and "Liberty at the bottom" In the
circel there are 7 stars, 2 jets , a soldier going up a hill and a ship at
the bottom, all in black print. There are Golden leaves around the circle

Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003
Dessert Storm
Double sided ( 2 flags placed back to back and sewn together)
United States Marines Flag
United Stated Air force
United Stated Coast Guard
United States Army
United States Navy
Value $75.00 each

These were all 5 foot long But next to them were other American flags but
these had 8 foot PVC Pipe and may have been too long to fit in what they
were transporting them in.. suggesting a short  bed truck


--------------------------------------------------------
Ride Free  ~Suds & bttrfly

http://sudsandbutterfly.homestead.com/

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@...

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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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.


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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

5 May 2009

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

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@... 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.










==========================================================
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.


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list at any time by clicking here:
http://mrf.org/mailman/listinfo/mrfnews_mrf.org
Scroll to the bottom of the page and
enter your email address.

Ride Safe. Ride Free. Ride Today.
=================================================

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

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@...


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.










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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@...
http://mrf.org/mailman/listinfo/mrfnews_mrf.org

=================================================
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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.
=================================================

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 doctor's 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

After years of battle the Missouri legislature has finall passed and sent to
the governor a helmet modification Bill. The Bill will allow those over the
age of 21 to choose whether to wear a helmet.
Three Cheers For Freedom of The Road Riders.

Sputnik

With 22 days left to get your ballots turned into the state office we have
votes for a District Advisor in District 20 and District 24. We have votes
for one State Chairman thus far. Get around to placing your vote. It has
never been easier.
When you finish reading this simply click on Reply, vote for a chairman and
vote for a District Advisor. THEN HIT SEND. Now you got it.

HCR 50 came out of House State Affairs Committee by a vote of 10-2 with I
present but not voting. 74 Representatives have signed onto HCR 50, only
three of these are Democrats. The Bill is designed to force the federal
government to recognize and live by the tenth amendment to the constitution.
I plan to begin asking questions why Democrats don't support states rights.
You might want to do the same.
I realize this is what is known as a hard vote but it definitely doesn't
rank on a level with Immigration and Abortion. How can anyone in public
office not respect the constitution? I want to know.
HB 4449 came out of committee as amended. It now says simply you can not
give a kid under five years old a ride on your bike. No mention of foot
pegs. I was told I could probably pull it back but I don't have the time or
desire to mess with it.

SB 1967 the Highway Safety Bill has been sent to Da'Lady, Rep. Chavez to
Sponsor in the House. Rep Hopson and Rep. Fred Brown are going to
Co-sponsor. I will talk to Rep. Pitts and Rep Hodge first thing in the
morning to round out the five with three Dems and two Repubs.
Terri, Stephanie and Tamra spent all day today passing out the papers on the
Bill and explaining it to all 150 Representatives. What a deal. It would
have taken me three days to do that and I would then have to begin talking
up HB 1569. Alittle help goes a long way.

HB 1569, the Equal Access has officially been recommended for the Local &
Consent today. Since our Sponsor is Chair of that committee this Bill should
hit the House Floor Soon. I went around talking to the Reps about it today
to get them ready.

HB 506 the Lane Splitting Bill is still sitting and hasn't been scheduled
for a hearing as of this minute.

SB 298 and HB 169, identical Road Block Bills are both still sitting
stagnant. Hopefully they will both die a merciless death. Just over three
weeks to go in this session.

After finishing up my rounds I went down to the Elections Committee Room and
signed up to speak on HB 4653 the Bill that would require that Texas revert
to Paper Ballots in time for the Primary Election next year. This Bill is
actually a work of art. It is crafted in such a way that the vote would be
on paper ballot and then actually be counted and tallied right there at the
Precinct. A camera would film the entire process and the public would be
allowed to quietly watch the proceedings. No question would you get the
correct totals. By the time the last box arrived at the courthouse the
winners would be known for that county.

Then I ran (rather walked slowly) and signed on to speak on HB 1863. This
was another great Bill that we just couldn't pass up having our say on. It
says plainly that any weapons, weapon parts or accessories and ammo
manufactured in Texas, for sale in Texas, could not be regulated by the
Federal Government. A short simple statement but one that speaks loud. It is
of course a State's Rights issue.
The constitution clearly states the federal government shall regulate
interstate commerce but intrastate commerce will be regulated by the
individual state.

  They stayed on the Floor late and we finally got started in Elections about
6:45. Representative Bonnen came down into the audience and let me know the
chairman was going to call up HB 4653 pretty quickly and let me go ahead and
testify as I was running short on oxygen. (I know to take my charger cable
from now on as it will only get later.) True to his word he pulled it up and
got me out of there pretty rapidly. I still had to go back over to Public
Safety and wait to speak on that one.
The entire committee treated me very nicely as Chairman Merritt introduced
me as the only one with one name since Elvis left the room.

Both bills received very good response from the committees. I would say that
of the two the paper ballot Bill will have the most trouble with full
passage but I believe they will both pass committee.
That's it for this round. A little over three weeks to go so it will explode
down there beginning next week. Now click on Reply and cast your votes. It
will really take very little effort I promise.

Ride Safe - Ride Sober
Sputnik

State Chair/TMRA 2

Texas Motorcycle Rights Association
512-971-6777  -  275 Old Lexington Rd.   Elgin, Texas   78621
www.tmra2.org

ONLY AS IMPORTANT AS YOU FEEL IT IS

  I don't know what it takes to get any interest or support out there in
motorcycle land but I have a couple of thank you's to send out to begin
this note.

We had a hearing on our Equal Access Bill on Monday. We sent out a request
for support and passed the word along to others. I say thank you to Terri
Williams, Stephanie Parks and Britney Parks our TMRA 2 "Legislative Task
Force" Members and Gypsy Mud Dauber. Stephanie, Mud Dauber and I testified
in favor and the Sponsor, Rep. Thompson gave us one hell of a build up as
upstanding citizens. I must say I was somewhat embarrassed by the lack of
support we showed our sponsor.
Nonetheless it went well. It will come out of committee and be sent to
Local & Consent of which our Sponsor is Chair. They asked today that you
contact those Representatives not on the committee and ask for their yes
vote on the Bill when it gets to the Floor. Now is the time to get that
done.
Returned to the office and had this notice:
THANKS TO THE AMIGOS M/C FOR THEIR CONTINUING SUPPORTER MEMBERSIP
ANNUALLY. THANKS TWICE OVER FOR INCREASING THAT SUPPORT FROM A GOLD
SUPPORTER MEMBER TO PLATINUM!!!When they can't be there they help cover
the expenses to have it done.

Next up is SB 1967 as amended, "we forgot to put in that $5 of our license
fee goes into the Rider Education Fund". I am happy to announce that the
effort put out has brought results. We learned today that HB 1967 will be
on the Floor for a vote of the Full Senate on Thursday 23rd. I will be
sitting in the Gallery to watch the vote and it would be nice to have some
company. How well I remember the other two times we had a vote like this.
Especially the one that went right down to the wire at midnight. That
crowd was the kind that memories are mad of and the celebration was
unreal.

HB 4449 was heard today. That one says you can't ride any child up to five
years of age on a motorcycle and that any child must have their feet on
the foot pegs. Several people testified in favor of that Bill and I alone
testified against it. If you are interested in this Bill in any way let
the Representatives hear from you on this one as well. Remember only talk
on one issue (Bill) on each email, letter or phone call.

We ended up the day with HB 11 and HB 13 in a committee hearing. HB 11
repeals the authority for TxDOT to have any more dealings along the lines
of the Trans Texas Corridor and HB 13 sets very strong guidelines under
which a freeway can be turned into a toll road making it all but
impossible to do. Both are fantastic Bills by Rep Leibowitz. About 30
people testified in favor of the Bill then Chairman Pickett said we have a
pile of these not wishing to testify. Not one person opposed those Bills.
It was worth the long day.

To send an Email the address is:

Senate   firstnamelastname@...

House     firstnamelastname@...

That's it for this round.

Ride Free - Ride Sober
Sputnik
State Chair/tmra2

tmraii@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> Without question this Bill will come out of committee when they next vote on
> Bills.
>
> Sputnik
>

Thank you for representing us there, and thank you for all your hard work.

We had a really good hearing on SB1967 Wednesday. Paul and I gave oral
testimony while Terri attended and turned in cards in favor of. Woody also
sent a letter of support from El Paso and Terri made the necessary copies
and placed it into written testimony.

One lady asked for an amendment stating children couldn't ride unless they
could reach the foot pegs. Chairman Carona told her he had given us his word
that if we came up with something we could all agree on, it would go to the
Floor unchanged and he was not going back on his word. He also thanked us
for coming up with a good Bill.
Without question this Bill will come out of committee when they next vote on
Bills.

Sputnik

The Bill will be heard Wednesday April 1st. The hearing begins at 7:30am, if
you could possibly come by and sign a card of support on your way to work or
on your lunch break if possible. A good showing may help.
Paul Landers and I could give testimony as we made all four meetings in
drafting the Bill.

Sputnik

I wanted to let all of you know that we are planning on hearing SB 1967 in
Committee on Wed. April 1st.   We appreciate your support of the bill and
would like to ask if anyone is planning to provide oral testimony they limit
the testimony to 3 minutes.

Sputnik

> Will Senator Carona accept what we put together?

Carona is bought-and-paid-for by the Insurance industry.  Look which
companies give him money...

http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor_details.phtml?c=1\
11860&i=50

One tactic might be to tell Corona that motorcyclists in Texas will
boycott any insurance company that gave him money.