MOST Extension Taking Shape At Legislature
Just because it’s cold is no excuse not to ride.
The Colorado Legislature is in session and one of the top issues of interest to motorcyclists is the proposed extension of the Motorcycle Operator Safety Training program (MOST). I’m now the legislative liaison for ABATE District 10 so I get periodic messages from Stump, who is ABATE’s primary legislative guy–basically our lobbyist down at the capitol.
I figure one of the best things I can do to keep folks apprised of what’s going on down there is to publish his messages, so here’s the latest.
Hello LegTeam,
As of February 25th, 198 Senate Bills and 209 House Bills have been introduced. There really aren’t many transportation bills being introduced this year, but we still have 2 that are of concern to motorcyclists: HB17-1044 (Autocycle Bill) and the MOST Program Bill.
HB17-1044 will be discussed by the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday, February 28th at 2:00 p.m. in room 352. The bill is still defining autocycles as a type of motorcycle, but it includes verbiage requiring autocycle drivers and passengers to use safety belts and, if applicable, child safety restraints. I just received word this week that the Polaris (Slingshot manufacturer) lobbyist wants an amendment added so no “M†endorsement is needed to drive an autocycle, only a driver’s license. ABATE doesn’t have an official position on that issue, our only real concern is a way to keep autocycle and motorcycle accident and fatality statistics separate. We’ll keep pushing for a solution to do that.
The MOST program bill is entirely different. Senators Priola and Todd were assigned the task of drafting a bill. They want input from the stakeholders as to what should be included in the bill. To that end, we held a meeting on Friday, February 17th at the ABATE Office. For various reasons, 6 of the 11 invited stakeholders didn’t attend. We had a good discussion about the current administration of the program and suggested possible changes that could improve the program, with a bottom line of saving lives. After discussions this week with some stakeholders and updating the Senators, we feel we need more input, so another meeting is being scheduled. This time it will be at a neutral location, the State Capitol, on Friday, March 3rd, time TBD. It’s being organized by an MOST Advisory Board Member so hopefully we’ll get better attendance. There’s still plenty of time to get the bill drafted and sent through the process. Right now we want to concentrate on getting stakeholder’s input so the drafters know exactly what we want included in the bill. Maybe we’ll need a couple more meetings. I’m sure you know what ABATE’s concerns are and what we would like addressed in the bill, but with numerous stakeholders involved there’s no telling what “suggestions†might be introduced. This just might turn into one huge contentious battle. We’ll keep plugging along and communicating seems to be the common theme. I’ll keep you all updated.
That’s about all the hot topics for now. Stand by to get legislatively active once the bill gets written and we need to contact our legislators.
Stump
Biker Quote for Today
Motorcycling is not, of itself, inherently dangerous. It is, however, extremely unforgiving of inattention, ignorance, incompetence, or stupidity.
Tags: Colorado MOST program
