MMA Update - 2016's Motorcycle Season opens with a STORM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
One week ago, on a sleepy Thursday morning, over 100 motorcyclists from around the Commonwealth met at the Lions Senior Center in Somerville to ride together in unity to the State House in Boston. The 15th Annual Massachusetts Motorcycle Association STORM THE STATE HOUSE was underway - riders eager to bring a shared message to their legislators.
Arriving on a variety of brands including Harley-Davidson, Indian, Yamaha, Honda, Triumph, BMW, Suzuki, Victory, and others, the touring bikes, cruisers, and sport bikes alike wound their way into the heart of Boston around noon where scores of onlookers rushed from their lunches to snap pictures of the motorcyclists as they rode by waving and smiling. Eventually parking on Charles Street in spaces reserved by the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, the riders were met by Duck Boats quacking in support of the motorcyclists!
Some of the Riders of the MMA 15th Annual Storm the State House
make the turn from Beacon Street onto Park Street to circle the Boston Common
Some of the riders opted to head directly into the State House to meet with their legislators, leveraging a briefing held at the Lion’s Center, while others gathered on the steps of the State House for a photo before meeting in the Gardner Auditorium for additional discussion. Your Massachusetts Motorcycle Association shared more detail on the issues facing us at a local level, and also shared news from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Washington D.C. on issues and accomplishments at a National Level.
Although the Massachusetts Legislative Session is in its second year, the MMA’s Legislative Agenda remains firm. The main focus of the day was the MMA’s Motorcycle Safety Fund Bill, which was successfully passed from the Joint Committee on Transportation and moved to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The attendees were encouraged to bring booklets containing all the MMA’s Bills to their Legislators, as well as the Senate Ways and Means Committee members, but to specifically highlight the plight of the Motorcycle Safety Fund.
The Motorcycle Safety Fund was established through the efforts of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association and its membership by voluntarily depositing an additional $2 from every motorcycle registration into a specific fund to be used for Motorcycle Safety Awareness and Education. Since its inception, however, that account has been underfunded and misused. The bill proposes better accounting of the funding and usage to assure that these voluntarily provided funds are complete and properly used.
Walking the halls, most offices welcomed the riders with smiles and appreciation for constituents bringing their message to the State House in person. Still others commented on receiving letters. All riders who were not able to attend are encouraged to print out a copy of the MMA STORM THE STATE HOUSE booklet and mail it to their legislators with a short one paragraph note asking for their support.
Your Massachusetts Motorcycle Association thanks all who attended, either by Motorcycle or by car and train, and all those who called and wrote letters!
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©2016 Massachusetts Motorcycle Association