FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MMA Legislative Update:
Governor’s Highway Safety Committee Bill (H.3046) Passed by the House!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Beginning October 9, 2013, the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) reported to its membership that House Bill Number 3046 (H.3046) received a “Favorable, Ought to Pass” recommendation from the MA Joint Committee on Transportation and was then read and voted upon before being ordered to the "Committee on Bills in the Third Reading". Following significant outreach by Motorcyclists and Legislators around the Commonwealth, on November 21, 2013, during the formal House of Representatives Session, the Bill was reported out of Committee with another favorable recommendation and has passed the Massachusetts House of Representatives!
As a reminder, the Governor's Highway Safety Committee exists per Massachusetts General Law, but is currently not represented by anyone whose interest lies in protecting the motorcyclists of Massachusetts. H.3046 aims to correct this injustice, but was held up in the "3rd Reading Committee" for almost 2 months. With a holiday hiatus looming (today is the last day of the formal session until after the new year), and significant thanks to the outreach by MMA Members and riders around the Commonwealth, House Rules were suspended to place the bill on the Floor Calendar immediately for a vote, demonstrating the support and respect of the MMA in the State House as well as the commitment of the riders who sent letters and called their Legislators and the Committee.
Thanks to the significant outreach of the riders of the Commonwealth, this Bill is now headed to the Massachusetts Senate as the next step in its journey! Riders who took the time to write letters and make telephone calls are gratefully thanked by the MMA for their efforts in helping this Bill move forward before the holiday hiatus.
Beginning immediately at the first of the year, after the recess, the MMA will begin efforts towards quick passage of this Bill in the Senate, now referred to as House Bill 3787, (procedural modifications that did not change the intent of the Bill caused the Bill to be re-numbered to H.3787). Your calls and letters are needed now on the Senate side to remind your State Senators that WE, the Motorcyclists of Massachusetts wish to be represented on the Governor's Highway Safety Committee and have a voice in shaping policies and decisions that affect our highways and byways in the Commonwealth.
The MMA would also like to remind riders of the upcoming Legislative and Leadership Training Event scheduled for 1:00PM on December 7, 2013 at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Marlboro. We’ll be discussing the Legislative process in Massachusetts and certainly next steps for this Bill. The MMA Christmas Party and Awards Banquet follows at 6:00PM. We hope to see you all there!
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