JANUARY 12, 2012 --- There have been a lot of people at the Statehouse, but not a lot has been going on. With the inability to have a quorum in the House most of last week, very little business has taken place. A few bill lists were introduced when they convened briefly on Monday, so there were some committee hearings on Wednesday. The House Roads and Transportation Committee took testimony on HB1197 concerning "mopeds", but will not vote until next week. While not a perfect bill, this will be a good first step toward providing some accountability for these units and replacing the misnomer "motorized bicycle". It is important to note, that 22 people were killed in Indiana on these vehicles in 2011.

SB137 is a bill that Senator Zakas introduced last year which is basically the "California" muffler stamp bill. This is not a good thing for anyone and we need to let our representatives know that. We were able to get this killed in committee last year and are working to stop it again this year.

There are certainly other pieces of legislation that we are watching, and more may be introduced, but these two are the most concerning at this time.

ABATE Day at the Statehouse is less than a week away. With all of the "goings on" at the Capitol, the schedule is truly day to day. Remember, that we were forced  to cancel our event last year related to similar protests. While we hope to avoid that this year, no one is certain what may happen. It is for that reason that we have asked for folks to call the ABATE state office to register, or RSVP if you will, so we will be able to follow up on Monday afternoon to advise of specific information or changes in the schedule. Our plan is to gather briefly in the area outside the legislative information office (just west of the rotunda on the main floor - which is the second floor). We will not have any presentations, but this will provide an opportunity for a briefing of our agenda, talking points, schedules and a quick orientation for first time attendees. So please contact the office to let us know if you plan to attend on Tuesday, January 17th. We hope to start at about 9:00AM and encourage folks to arrive prior to that (I'll be there about 8:00AM).

As I suggested earlier, this should be an interesting session.

Ride Safe,
Ride Free,
Jay Jackson

Check current and past legislative action of the Indiana General Assembly through
the Indiana Legislative Services Agency

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