Passes & Canyons Blog

Not related to the post; just a photo of stuff we love.

On Thursday this week SB-12 will be back up in committee for consideration after some changes have been made by its sponsor, Sen. Lois Court, to make it more palatable for several committee members. If you can make it down to the capitol to support this bill it would be a good thing. Rather than try to reword what Stump has already put together, I am just going to copy/paste his entire message here.

Tuesday, 2/5 – Info from Senator Court on where the Committee members are on this Bill:
• Winter, Priola, Scott should be convincible.
• I think we have Donovan, and Foote.
• Hisey and Pettersen are probably lost causes.

Still a good idea to contact all of them . . .maybe more convincing communications to Winter, Priola & Scott (and I’d still try to sway Hisey and Pettersen).

Wednesday, 2/6 – If we don’t get either Winter or Scott and Hisey and Pettersen are solid no’s then we only have Donovan, Foote, and Priola which won’t get us there. We need HUGE push on Winter and Scott.

Senator Court met with Senator Faith Winter (Chair of the Transportation Committee) and a few other stakeholders to negotiate these revisions. The plan is to present this revised language to the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb 14, upon adjournment, which is usually around 9:45 – 10:00 am. Conference Room 352.

A few comments about the revised language:
There are two different fines proposed:
• Texting will still incur a $300 fine/4 points. Will still be a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. “Careless driving” phrase will be deleted.
• Just having the device in your hand may incur a $50/2 pt. fine first offense; second offense will incur a $150/4 pt. fine; third offense will incur a $300/4 pt. fine. Offense changed to Class A traffic Infraction (vs a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense).
• You must be legally parked or at rest in a shoulder lane to use the electronic mobile device lawfully. (Stopped at a stoplight or Stop sign is not legally parked or at rest).

Let me know if you have any questions/comments after reading thru the revisions. Another amendment that will be presented is that under 18, full ban of electronic mobile devices while driving.

When contacting the Committee members, Senator Court has recommended some thoughts below. Please feel free to put these in your own words . . . we just want to be sure the Committee knows that Senator Court, and us as stakeholders, have been willing to compromise and work with the Committee to get this Bill passed. Please ask your stakeholders to reach out to all Committee members again before Feb 14. It sounds like a few Committee members are still undecided, and we’ll need 4 Yes votes to keep this Bill alive.

Here’s some suggested wording:
To Senator Faith Winter: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with you and other stakeholders.

To Senators Kevin Priola and Ray Scott: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with Senator Winter and other stakeholders.

To the other Committee members: We believe that holding a phone while driving puts everyone on the road at risk, but especially motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities. While we agree that texting is even more dangerous we hope you’ll help us in the Transportation Committee by moving SB 12 forward when you hear it again on Feb. 14. We know Sen. Court listened carefully to the suggestions your Committee members requested, and we feel that the strike below bill now in front of you will be extremely helpful in combating the danger of distracted driving on Colorado’s roads.

Thank you again for your consideration……(name and address)

S-T&E Committee Members:
Senator Faith Winter, Chair of the Committee
faith.winter.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4863

Senator Brittany Pettersen, Vice Chair of the Committee
brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4859

Senator Kerry Donovan
kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4871

Senator Mike Foote
Mike.foote.senate@state.co.us
303-866-5291

Senator Dennis Hisey
Dennis.hisey.senate@state.co.us
302-866-4877

Senator Kevin Priola
kpriola@gmail.com
303-866-4855

Senator Ray Scott
ray.scott.senate@state.co.us
303-866-3077

Thanks to Susan Dane for her input and all the work she is doing on this bill.

Biker Quote for Today

Nothing shouts out “Celebrity!” as loudly as being a biker in desperate need of a shave, a haircut and clean clothes. — Foster Kinn

Tags: distracted driving

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2019 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Biker Issues, Motorcycle legislation, Motorcycle Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.