By: Stump, Legislative Affairs Officer – ABATE of Colorado
ABATE
The 2nd Session of the 71st Colorado General Assembly ended on Wednesday, May 9th. There weren’t any bills of direct concern to motorcyclists this session, but I hope I made some progress for next year. I couldn’t get any sponsors for our concerns: Anti-Profiling; Red-Light Bill; Lane- Splitting; or Autocycles. The Legislators I talked to support our issues but wouldn’t sponsor any bills. I think I’ll have better luck next year because of the connections I made this year and insights I gained on some Legislators.
Here is a quick summary of the Colorado Legislative Session:
The Senate introduced 280 bills and 31 various resolutions and memorials. The House introduced 441 bills and 32 resolutions and memorials. The bills are categorized into 29 different “issues.” The top categories for bills this year were:
Senate:
- Health Care / Public Health / Human Services 59
- State and Local Government 41
- Crimes, Corrections and Enforcement 36
- Education 33
- Liquor, Tobacco and Marijuana 23
- Transportation 22
House:
- Health Care / Public Health / Human Services 100
- State and Local Government 100
- Education 54
- Crimes, Corrections and Enforcement 48
- Fiscal Policy and Taxes 34
- Transportation 22
Note: 1/3 of all the bills introduced are “corrections” to previous bills! There seemed to be a lot of conference/concurrence committee meetings this year – (disagreement?).
Outcome
Senate:
- Passed 179
- PI In 1st Chamber 67
- PI in 2nd Chamber 36
- Lost (killed in Chambers) 6
- Left open 1
House:
- Passed 268
- PI In 1st Chamber 76
- PI in 2nd Chamber 90
- Lost (killed in Chambers) 4
- Left open 3
So, that’s a quick look at the numbers. Now, the real work begins – elections are coming up with the primaries next month and the general election in November. More on all this later.
I’m sending this from Washington, D.C. as I’m here for Bikers Inside the Beltway, a National Motorcycle Lobby Day sponsored by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF). I’ll be advocating on the following 4 concerns: changing the Renewable Fuel Standards; passing the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act); passing the Motorcycle Anti- Profiling Resolutions; passing the AV START Act (Autonomous Vehicles). There will be 150 or more leather-clad bikers, from all over the country, roaming the Congressional halls letting our U.S. Legislators know about our concerns.
Learn more about the MRF at www.mrf.org and join the fight for our freedoms to ride the way we want to. Sometimes in life you must step up to the plate or get “stepped-on.”
